THE  WORKS  OF 
ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON 


EDITED  BY 

CHARLES   CURTIS   BIGELOW 

AND 

TEMPLE   SCOTT 


VOLUME  I 


r 


THE  WORKS  OF  | 


ROBERT  LOUIS 

STEVENSON 

'lam  called  Francis  Villon" 


Vol.  I,  Page  244 


/ 
/.;•  -  ■ 


^  ARABIAN  NIGHT^ 


THE  DYNA 


WIWHIli  WWi 


TE6llion  'DeTLuxe 


THE  WORKS  OF 

ROBERT  LOUIS 
STEVENSON 

VOLUME  1 


NEW  ARABIAN  NIGHTS 


THE  DYNAMITER 


'G\)Z  '2)avos  "press 


EDITION   De  luxe 

Published    by    Subscribers    only 
Limited  to  one  thousand  sets 


THIS  SET  IS  NUMBER 


Copyright.  1906,  by 
Charles  Curtis  Bigelow 


s.A^^^-----.^^ 


NEW   ARABIAN  NIGHTS 
THE   DYNAMITER 


CONTENTS 

NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS     .    .    s     .    *     *     »    *     .     1 
THE    DYNAMITER       ...*»**,..    309 


NEW  ARABIAN  NIGHTS 


EDITORIAL  NOTE 

The  New  Arabian  Nights  is  a  collection  of  stones  pre- 
viously printed  in  the  following  English  periodicals:  Lon- 
don^ Cornhill  Magazine  and  Temple  Bar.  The  Suicide  Club 
and  The  Rajah's  Diamond  appeared  in  London  in  1878 
under  the  general  title  of  Latter-Day  Arabian  NighU.,  and 
Pro\4dence  and  the  Guitar  in  the  same  in  1878  under  the 
title  oiLe'on  Berthelini's  Guitar.  The  Pavilion  on  the  Links 
was  first  issued  in  the  Cornhill  Magazine  in  1880  and  A 
Lodging  for  the  Night,  and  The  Sire  de  Maletroit's  Door 
in  Temple  Bar  in  1877  and  1878  respectively. 

The  first  appearance  of  these  stories  in  book  form  was 
the  two  volume  edition  issued  by  Messrs.  Chatto  and  Windus 
in  August,  1882,  followed  by  a  second  edition  befoi-e  the  end 
of  the  year.  An  American  edition  also  appeared  in  1882 
and  these  two  were  the  forerunners  of  many  editions  in  Eng- 
land and  America. 


TO 

ROBERT    ALAN    MOWBRAY    STEVENSON 

IN    GRATEFUL   REMEMBRANCE    OF    THEIR    YOUTH 
AND    THEIR    ALREADY    OLD    AFFECTION 


AUTHOR'S   NOTE 

I  MUST  insert  a  word  of  thanks  to  the  gentleman  who  con- 
descended to  borrow  the  gist  of  one  of  ray  stories,  and  even 
to  honor  it  with  the  addition  of  his  signature.  This  mark  of 
appreciation  emboldened  me  to  make  the  present  collection. 

R.  L.  S. 


# 


CONTENTS 


TEE   SUICIDE    CLUB 

PACE 

Story  op  the  YotrNG  Man  with  the  Ceeam  Tarts 1 

Story  of  the  Physician  and  the  Saratoga  Trunk 39 

The  Adventure  of  the  Hansom  Cab 59 


THE  RAJAH'S  DIAMOND 

Story  of  the  Bandbox •     •     .     .  83 

Story  of  the  Young  Man  in  Holy  Orders 108 

Story  of  the  House  with  the  Green  Blinds 124 

The  Adventure  of  Prince  Florizel  and  a  Detective     ....  155 

THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

chapter 
I.    Tells  How  I  Camped  in  Ghaden  Sea-wood  and  Beheld  a 

Light  in  the  Pavilion 165 

II.    Tells  of  the  Nocturnal  Landing  from  the  Yacht     .     .     •  172 

III.  Tells  How  I  Became  Acquainted  with  My  Wife     .      .      .  179 

IV.  Tells  in   What  a   Startling  Manner   I   Learned  that   I 

Was  Not  Alone  in  Graden  Sea-wood 188 

v.    Tells  of  an  Interview  Between  Northmour,  Clara,  and 

Myself 196 

VI,    Tells  of  My  Introduction  to  the  Tall  Man     ....  202 

xvii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VII.    Tells   How  a  Word  Was  Cbied  through   the   Paviliok 

Window 208 

VIII.    Tells  the  Last  of  the  Tall  Man         215 

IX    Tells  How  Northmoub  Carried  Out  His  Threat    .     .     .  222 

A  LODGING  FOB  THE  NIGHT 239 

THE  SIRE  DE  MAL^TROITS  DOOR 253 

PROVIDENCE  AND  THE  GUITAR 27T 


xvIU 


THE    SUICIDE   CLUB 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

STORY    OF    THE    YOUNG    MAN    WITH    THE    CREAM    TARTS 

DURING  his  residence  in  London,  tlie  accomplished 
Prince  Florizel  of  Bohemia  gained  the  affection  of  all 
classes  by  the  seduction  of  his  manner  and  by  a  well-con- 
sidered generosity.  He  was  a  remarkable  man  even  by  what 
was  known  of  him;  and  that  was  but  a  small  part  of  what 
he  actually  did.  Although  of  a  placid  temper  in  ordinary 
circumstances,  and  accustomed  to  take  the  world  with  as 
much  philosophy  as  any  ploughman,  the  Prince  of  Bohemia 
was  not  without  a  taste  for  ways  of  life  more  adventurous 
and  eccentric  than  that  to  which  he  was  destined  by  his 
birth.  Now  and  then,  when  he  fell  into  a  low  humor,  when 
there  was  no  laughable  play  to  witness  in  any  of  the  Lon- 
don theatres,  and  when  the  season  of  the  year  was  unsuitable 
to  those  field  sports  in  which  he  excelled  all  competitors, 
he  would  summon  his  confidant  and  Master  of  the  Horse, 
Colonel  Geraldine,  and  bid  him  prepare  himself  against 
an  evening  ramble.  The  Master  of  the  Horse  was  a  young 
officer  of  a  brave  and  even  temerarious  disposition.  He 
greeted  the  news  with  delight,  and  hastened  to  make  ready. 
Long  practice  and  a  varied  acquaintance  of  life  had  given 
him  a  singular  facility  in  disguise ;  he  could  adapt  not  only 
his  face  and  bearing,  but  his  voice  and  almost  his  thoughts, 
to  those  of  any  rank,  character,  or  nation ;  and  in  this  way 
he  diverted  attention  from  the  Prince,  and  sometimes  gained 
admission  for  the  pair  into  strange  societies.  The  civil 
authorities  were  never  taken  into  the  secret  of  these  ad- 
ventures ;  the  imperturbable  courage  of  the  one  and  the  ready 
invention  and  chivalrous  devotion  of  the  other  had  brought 
them  through  a  score  of  dangerous  passes ;  and  they  grew 
in  confidence  as  time  went  on. 

One  evening  in  March  they  were  driven  by  a  sharp  fall 

1 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

of  sleet  into  an  Oyster  Bar  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  Leicester  Square.  Colonel  Geraldine  was  dressed  and 
painted  to  represent  a  person  connected  with  the  Press  in 
reduced  circumstances ;  while  the  Prince  had,  as  usual, 
travestied  his  appearance  by  the  addition  of  false  whiskers 
and  a  pair  of  large  adhesive  eyebrows.  These  lent  him  a 
shaggy  and  weather-beaten  air,  which,  for  one  of  his 
urbanity,  formed  the  most  impenetrable  disguise.  Thus 
equipped,  the  commander  and  his  satellite  sipped  their 
brandy  and  soda  in  security. 

The  bar  was  full  of  guests,  both  male  and  female;  but 
though  more  than  one  of  these  offered  to  fall  into  talk  with 
our  adventurers,  none  of  them  promised  to  grow  interesting 
upon  a  nearer  acquaintance.  There  was  nothing  present 
but  the  lees  of  London  and  the  commonplace  of  disrespecta- 
bility ;  and  the  Prince  had  already  fallen  to  yawning,  and 
was  beginning  to  grow  weary  of  the  whole  excursion,  when 
the  swing  doors  were  pushed  violently  open,  and  a  young 
man,  followed  by  a  couple  of  commissionaires,  entered  the 
bar.  Each  of  the  commissionaires  carried  a  large  dish  of 
cream  tarts  under  a  cover,  which  they  at  once  removed; 
and  the  young  man  made  the  round  of  the  company,  and 
pressed  these  confections  upon  everyone's  acceptance  with 
an  exaggerated  courtesy.  Sometimes  his  offer  was  laugh- 
ingly accepted;  sometimes  it  was  firmly,  or  even  harshly, 
rejected.  In  these  latter  cases  the  newcomer  always  ate  the 
tart  himself,  with  some  more  or  less  humorous  commentary. 

At  last  he  accosted  Prince  Florizel. 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  with  a  profound  obeisance,  proffering  the 
tart  at  the  same  time  between  his  thumb  and  forefinger, 
"  will  you  so  far  honor  an  entire  stranger?  I  can  answer 
for  the  quality  of  the  pastry,  having  eaten  two  dozen  and 
three  of  them  myself  since  five  o^clock." 

"  I  am  in  the  habit,"  replied  the  Prince,  "  of  looking  not 
so  much  to  the  nature  of  a  gift  as  to  the  spirit  in  which 
it  is  offered." 

"  The  spirit,  sir,"  returned  the  young  man,  with  another 
bow,  "  is  one  of  mockery." 


m 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 


<( 


Mockery?"  repeated  Florlzel.  "And  whom  do  you 
propose  to  mock?  " 

"  I  am  not  here  to  expound  my  philosophy,"  replied  the 
other,  "  but  to  distribute  these  cream  tarts.  If  I  men- 
tion that  I  heartily  include  myself  in  the  ridicule  of  the 
transaction,  I  hope  you  will  consider  honor  satisfied  and 
condescend.  If  not,  you  will  constrain  me  to  eat  my 
twenty-eighth,  and  I  own  to  being  weary  of  the  exercise.^' 

"  You  touch  me,"  said  the  Prince,  "  and  I  have  all  the 
will  in  the  world  to  rescue  you  from  this  dilemma,  but  upon 
one  condition.  If  my  friend  and  I  eat  your  cakes — for 
which  we  have  neither  of  us  any  natural  inclination — ^we  shall 
expect  you  to  join  us  at  supper  by  way  of  recompense." 

The  young  man  seemed  to  reflect. 

"  I  have  still  several  dozen  upon  hand,"  he  said  at  last ; 
*'  and  that  will  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  visit  several 
more  bars  before  my  great  affair  is  concluded.  This  will 
take  some  time ;  and  if  you  are  hungry " 

The  Prince  interrupted  him  with  a  polite  gesture. 

"  My  friend  and  I  will  accompany  you,"  he  said :  *'  for 
we  have  already  a  deep  interest  in  your  very  agreeable  mode 
of  passing  an  evening.  And  now  that  the  preliminaries  of 
peace  are  settled,  allow  me  to  sign  the  treaty  for  both." 

And  the  Prince  swallowed  the  tart  with  the  best  grace 
imaginable. 

"  It  is  delicious,"  said  he. 

"  I  perceive  you  are  a  connoisseur,"  replied  the  young 
man. 

Colonel  Geraldine  likewise  did  honor  to  the  pastry;  and 
every  one  in  that  bar  having  now  either  accepted  or  refused 
his  delicacies,  the  young  man  with  the  cream  tarts  led  the 
way  to  another  and  similar  establishment.  The  two  com- 
missionaires, who  seemed  to  have  grown  accustomed  to  their 
absurd  employment,  followed  immediately  after ;  and  the 
Prince  and  the  Colonel  brought  up  the  rear,  arm  in  arm, 
and  smiling  to  each  other  as  they  went.  In  this  order  the 
company  visited  two  other  taverns,  where  scenes  were  enacted 
of  a  like  nature  to  that  already  described — some  refusing, 

3 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

some  accepting,  the  favors  of  this  vagabond  hospitality, 
and  the  young  man  himself  eating  each  rejected  tart. 

On  leaving  the  third  saloon  the  young  man  counted  his 
store.  There  were  but  nine  remaining,  three  in  one  tray  and 
six  in  the  other. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  addressing  himself  to  his  two  new 
followers,  "  I  am  unwilling  to  delay  your  supper.  I  am 
positively  sure  you  must  be  hungry.  I  feel  that  I  owe  you 
a  special  consideration.  And  on  this  great  day  for  me, 
when  I  am  closing  a  career  of  folly  by  my  most  conspicu- 
ously silly  action,  I  wish  to  behave  handsomely  to  all  who 
give  me  countenance.  Gentlemen,  you  shall  wait  no  longer. 
Although  my  constitution  is  shattered  by  previous  ex- 
cesses, at  the  risk  of  my  life  I  liquidate  the  suspensory 
condition." 

With  these  words  he  crushed  the  nine  remaining  tarts 
into  his  mouth,  and  swallowed  them  at  a  single  movement 
each.  Then,  turning  to  the  commissionaires,  he  gave  them 
a  couple  of  sovereigns. 

"  I  have  to  thank  you,"  said  he,  "  for  your  extraordinary 
patience." 

And  he  dismissed  them  with  a  bow  apiece.  For  some 
seconds  he  stood  looking  at  the  purse  from  which  he  had 
just  paid  his  assistants,  then,  with  a  laugh,  he  tossed  it 
into  the  middle  of  the  street,  and  signified  his  readiness  for 
supper. 

In  a  small  French  restaurant  in  Soho,  which  had  enjoyed 
an  exaggerated  reputation  for  some  little  while,  but  had 
already  begun  to  be  forgotten,  and  in  a  private  room  up 
two  pair  of  stairs,  the  three  companions  made  a  very  elegant 
supper,  and  drank  three  or  four  bottles  of  champagne,  talk- 
ing the  while  upon  indifferent  subjects.  The  young  man 
was  fluent  and  gay,  but  he  laughed  louder  than  was  natural 
in  a  person  of  polite  breeding;  his  hands  trembled  violently, 
and  his  voice  took  sudden  and  surprising  inflections,  which 
seemed  to  be  independent  of  his  will.  The  dessert  had  been 
cleared  away,  and  all  three  had  lighted  their  cigars,  when 
the  Prince  addressed  him  in  these  words: — 


n 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

"  You  will,  I  am  sure,  pardon  my  curiosity.  What  I  have 
seen  of  you  has  greatly  pleased  but  even  more  puzzled  me. 
And  though  I  should  be  loath  to  seem  indiscreet,  I  must  tell 
you  that  my  friend  and  I  are  persons  very  well  worthy  to 
be  entrusted  with  a  secret.  We  have  many  of  our  own, 
which  we  are  continually  revealing  to  improper  ears.  And 
if,  as  I  suppose,  your  story  is  a  silly  one,  you  need  have 
no  delicacy  with  us,  who  are  two  of  the  silliest  men  in  Eng- 
land. My  name  is  Godall,  Theophilus  Godall;  my  friend 
is  Major  Alfred  Hammersmith — or  at  least,  such  is  the 
name  by  which  he  chooses  to  be  known.  We  pass  our  lives 
entirely  in  the  search  for  extravagant  adventures ;  and  there 
is  no  extravagance  with  which  we  are  not  capable  of  sym- 
pathy." 

"  I  like  you,  Mr.  Godall,"  returned  the  young  man ;  "  you 
inspire  me  with  a  natural  confidence;  and  I  have  not  the 
slightest  objection  to  your  friend,  the  Major;  whom  I  take 
to  be  a  nobleman  in  masquerade.  At  least,  I  am  sure  he  is  no 
soldier." 

The  Colonel  smiled  at  this  compliment  to  the  perfection 
of  his  art;  and  the  young  man  went  on  in  a  more  animated 
manner. 

"  There  is  every  reason  why  I  should  not  tell  you  my  story. 
Perhaps  that  is  just  the  reason  why  I  am  going  to  do  so. 
At  least,  you  seem  so  well  prepared  to  hear  a  tale  of  silliness 
that  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  heart  to  disappoint  you.  My 
name,  in  spite  of  your  example,  I  shall  keep  to  myself.  My 
age  is  not  essential  to  the  narrative.  I  am  descended  from 
my  ancestors  by  ordinary  generation,  and  from  them  I  in- 
herited the  very  eligible  human  tenement  which  I  still  occupy 
and  a  fortune  of  three  hundred  pounds  a  year.  I  suppose 
they  also  handed  on  to  me  a  hare-brain  humor,  which  it  has 
been  my  chief  delight  to  indulge.  I  received  a  good  educa- 
tion. I  can  play  the  violin  nearly  well  enough  to  earn  money 
in  the  orchestra  of  a  penny  gaff,  but  not  quite.  The  same 
remark  applies  to  the  flute  and  the  French  horn.  I  learned 
enough  of  whist  to  lose  about  a  hundred  a  year  at  that 
scientific  game.     My  acquaintance  with  French  was  sufficient 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

to  enable  me  to  squander  money  in  Paris  with  almost  the 
same  facility  as  in  London.  In  short,  I  am  a  person  full  of 
manly  accomplishments.  I  have  had  every  sort  of  adventure, 
including  a  duel  about  nothing.  Only  two  months  ago  I  met 
a  young  ladj'  exactly  suited  to  my  taste  in  mind  and  body; 
I  found  my  heart  melt ;  I  saw  that  I  had  come  upon  my  fate 
at  last,  and  was  in  the  way  to  fall  in  love.  But  when  I  came 
to  reckon  up  what  remained  to  me  of  my  capital,  I  found 
it  amounted  to  something  less  than  four  hundred  pounds ! 
I  ask  you  fairly — can  a  man  who  respects  himself  fall  in 
love  on  four  hundred  pounds?  I  concluded,  certainly  not; 
left  the  presence  of  my  charmer,  and  slightly  accelerating 
my  usual  rate  of  expenditure,  came  this  morning  to  my  last 
eighty  pounds.  This  I  divided  into  two  equal  parts ;  forty 
I  reserved  for  a  particular  purpose;  the  remaining  forty  I 
was  to  dissipate  before  the  night.  I  have  passed  a  very 
entertaining  day,  and  played  many  farces  besides  that  of 
the  cream  tarts  which  procured  me  the  advantage  of  your 
acquaintance;  for  I  was  determined,  as  I  told  you,  to  bring 
a  foolish  career  to  a  still  more  foolish  conclusion ;  and  when 
you  saw  me  throw  ray  purse  into  the  street,  the  forty  pounds 
were  at  an  end.  Now  you  know  me  as  well  as  I  know  myself: 
a  fool,  but  consistent  in  his  folly;  and,  as  I  will  ask  you  to 
believe,  neither  a  whimperer  nor  a  coward." 

From  the  whole  tone  of  the  young  man's  statement  it  was 
plain  that  he  harbored  very  bitter  and  contemptuous 
thoughts  about  himself.  His  auditors  were  led  to  imagine 
that  his  love  affair  was  nearer  his  heart  than  he  admitted, 
and  that  he  had  a  design  on  his  own  life.  The  farce  of  the 
cream  tarts  began  to  have  very  much  the  air  of  a  tragedy 
in  disguise. 

"  Why,  is  this  not  odd,"  broke  out  Geraldine,  giving  a 
look  to  Prince  Florizel,  "  that  we  three  fellows  should  have 
met  by  the  merest  accident  in  so  large  a  wilderness  as  Lon- 
don, and  should  be  so  nearly  in  the  same  condition?  " 

"  How?  "  cried  the  young  man.  "  Are  you,  too,  ruined? 
Is  this  supper  a  folly  hke  my  cream  tarts?  Has  the  devil 
brought  three  of  his  own  together  for  a  last  carouse?  " 


THE   SUICIDE   CLUB 

*'The  devil,  depend  upon  it,  can  sometimes  do  a  very  gen- 
tlemanly thing,"  returned  Prince  Florizel;  "and  I  am  so 
much  touched  by  this  coincidence,  that,  although  we  are  not 
entirely  in  the  same  case,  I  am  going  to  put  an  end  to  the 
disparity.  Let  your  heroic  treatment  of  the  last  cream 
tarts  be  my  example. ' ' 

So  saying,  the  Prince  drew  out  his  purse  and  took  from 
it  a  small  bundle  of  bank-notes. 

"You  see,  I  was  a  week  or  so  behind  you,  but  I  mean 
to  catch  you  up  and  come  neck  and  neck  into  the  winning- 
post,"  he  continued.      "This,"  laying  one  of  the  notes  upon 

the  table,  ' '  will  suffice  for  the  bill.      As  for  the  rest ' ' 

He  tossed  them  into  the  fire,  and  they  went  up  the  chimney 
in  a  single  blaze. 

The  young  man  tried  to  catch  his  arm,  but  as  the  table 
was  between  them  his  interference  came  too  late. 

"Unhappy  man,"  he  cried,  "3'ou  should  not  have  burned 
them  all !      You  should  have  kept  forty  pounds. ' ' 

"Forty  pounds!"  repeated  the  Prince.  "Why,  in 
Heaven's  name,  forty  pounds?" 

"Why  not  eighty?"  cried  the  Colonel;  "for  to  my  cer- 
tain knowledge  there  must  have  been  a  hundred  in  the 
bundle." 

"It  was  only  forty  pounds  he  needed,"  said  the  young 
man  gloomily.  "But  without  them  there  is  no  admission. 
The  rule  is  strict.  Forty  pounds  for  each.  Accursed  life, 
where  a  man  cannot  even  die  without  money ! ' ' 
The  Prince  and  the  Colonel  exchanged  glances. 
"Explain  yourself,"  said  the  latter.  "I  have  still  a 
pocket-book  tolerably  well  lined,  and  I  need  not  say  how 
readily  I  would  share  my  wealth  with  Godall.  But  I  must 
know  to  what  end:  you  must  certainly  tell  us  what  you 
mean. ' ' 

The  young   man    seemed   to   awaken ;    he   looked   uneasily 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  his  face  flushed  deeply. 

"You  are  not  fooling  me?"  he  asked.  "You  are  indeed 
ruined  men  like  me?" 

"Indeed,  I  am  for  my  part,"  replied  the  Colonel. 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  And  for  mine,"  said  the  Prince,  "  I  have  given  you 
proof.  Who  but  a  ruined  man  would  throw  his  notes  into 
the  fire?     The  action  speaks  for  itself." 

"  A  ruined  man — yes,"  returned  the  other  suspiciously, 
*'  or  else  a  millionaire." 

"  Enough,  sir,"  said  the  Prince ;  "  I  have  said  so,  and  I 
am  not  accustomed  to  have  my  word  remain  in  doubt." 

"Ruined?"  said  the  young  man.  "Are  you  ruined,  like 
me?  Are  you,  after  a  life  of  indulgence,  come  to  such  a 
pass  that  you  can  only  indulge  yourself  in  one  thing  more? 
Are  you  " — he  kept  lowering  his  voice  as  he  went  on — "  are 
you  going  to  give  yourselves  that  last  indulgence!  Are 
you  going  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  your  folly  by  the 
one  infallible  and  easy  path?  Are  you  going  to  give  the 
slip  to  the  sheriff's  officers  of  conscience  by  the  one  open 
door?  " 

Suddenly  he  broke  off  and  attempted  to  laugh. 

"  Here  is  your  health ! "  he  cried,  emptying  his  glass, 
**  and  good  night  to  you,  my  merry  ruined  men." 

Colonel  Geraldine  caught  him  by  the  arm  as  he  was  about 
to  rise. 

"  You  lack  confidence  in  us,"  he  said,  "  and  you  are 
wrong.  To  all  your  questions  I  make  answer  In  the  affirma- 
tive. But  I  am  not  so  timid,  and  can  speak  the  Queen's 
English  plainly.  We  too,  like  yourself,  have  had  enough 
of  life,  and  are  determined  to  die.  Sooner  or  later,  alone 
or  together,  we  meant  to  seek  out  death  and  beard  him 
where  he  lies  ready.  Since  we  have  met  you,  and  your  case 
is  more  pressing,  let  it  be  to-night — and  at  once — and,  if 
you  will,  all  three  together.  Such  a  penniless  trio,"  he  cried, 
"  should  go  arm  in  arm  into  the  halls  of  Pluto,  and  give 
each  other  some  countenance  among  the  shades ! " 

Geraldine  had  hit  exactly  on  the  manners  and  intonations 
that  became  the  part  he  was  playing.  The  Prince  himself 
was  disturbed,  and  looked  over  at  his  confidant  with  a  shade 
of  doubt.  As  for  the  young  man,  the  flush  came  back 
darkly  Into  his  cheek,  and  his  eyes  threw  out  a  spark  of 
light. 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

"  You  are  the  men  for  me ! "  he  cried,  with  an  almost 
terrible  gayety.  "  Shake  hands  upon  the  bargain !  "  (his 
hand  was  cold  and  wet.)  "  You  little  know  in  what  a  com- 
pany you  will  begin  the  march !  You  little  know  in  what  a 
happy  moment  for  yourselves  you  partook  of  my  cream 
tarts !  I  am  only  a  unit,  but  I  am  a  unit  in  an  army.  I  know 
Death's  private  door.  I  am  one  of  his  familiars,  and  can 
show  you  into  eternity  without  ceremony  and  yet  without 
scandal." 

They  called  upon  him  eagerly  to  explain  his  meaning. 

"  Can  you  muster  eighty  pounds  between  you.'*  "  he  de- 
manded. 

Geraldine  ostentatiously  consulted  his  pocket-book,  and 
replied  in  the  affirmative. 

"  Fortunate  beings !  "  cried  the  young  man.  "  Forty 
pounds  is  the  entry  money  of  the  Suicide  Club." 

"  The  Suicide  Club,"  said  the  Prince,  "  why,  what  the 
devil  is  that.?  " 

"  Listen,"  said  the  young  man ;  "  this  is  the  age  of  con- 
veniences, and  I  have  to  tell  you  of  the  last  perfection  of 
the  sort.  We  have  affairs  in  different  places ;  and  hence 
railways  were  invented.  Railways  separated  us  infallibly 
from  our  friends ;  and  so  telegraphs  were  made  that  we  might 
communicate  speedily  at  great  distances.  Even  in  hotels 
we  have  hfts  to  spare  us  a  climb  of  some  hundred  steps. 
Now,  we  know  that  life  is  only  a  stage  to  play  the  fool  upon 
as  long  as  the  part  amuses  us.  There  was  one  more  con- 
venience lacking  to  modem  comfort ;  a  decent,  easy  way  to 
quit  that  stage ;  the  back  stairs  to  liberty ;  or,  as  I  said  this 
moment,  Death's  private  door.  This,  my  two  fellow-rebels, 
is  supplied  by  the  Suicide  Club.  Do  not  suppose  that  you 
and  I  are  alone,  or  even  exceptional,  in  the  highly  reasonable 
desire  that  we  profess.  A  large  number  cf  our  fellow-men, 
who  have  grown  heartily  sick  of  the  performance  in  which 
they  are  expected  to  join  daily  and  all  their  lives  long,  are 
only  kept  from  flight  by  one  or  two  considerations.  Some 
have  families  who  would  be  shocked,  or  even  blamed,  if  the 
matter  became  public ;  others  have  a  weakness  at  heart  and 

9 


NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS 

recoil  from  the  circumstances  of  death.  That  is,  to  some 
extent,  my  own  experience.  I  cannot  put  a  pistol  to  my  head 
and  draw  the  trigger;  for  something  stronger  than  myself 
withholds  the  act;  and  although  I  loathe  life,  I  have  not 
strength  enough  in  my  body  to  take  hold  of  death  and  be 
done  with  it.  For  such  as  I,  and  for  all  who  desire  to  be  out 
of  the  coil  without  posthumous  scandal,  the  Suicide  Club 
has  been  inaugurated.  How  this  has  been  managed,  what  is 
its  history,  or  what  may  be  its  ramifications  in  other  lands, 
I  am  myself  uninformed ;  and  what  I  know  of  its  constitu- 
tion, I  am  not  at  liberty  to  communicate  to  you.  To  this 
extent,  however,  I  am  at  your  service.  If  you  are  truly 
tired  of  life,  I  will  introduce  you  to-night  to  a  meeting; 
and  if  not  to-night,  at  least  some  time  within  the  week,  you 
wiU  be  easily  relieved  of  your  existences.  It  is  now  (con- 
sulting his  watch)  eleven ;  by  half -past,  at  latest,  we  must 
leave  this  place ;  so  that  you  have  half  an  hour  before  you 
to  consider  my  proposal.  It  is  more  serious  than  a  cream 
tart,"  he  added,  with  a  smile ;  "  and  I  suspect  more 
palatable." 

"  More  serious,  certainly,"  returned  Colonel  Geraldine ; 
"  and  as  it  is  so  much  more  so,  will  you  allow  me  five  minutes' 
speech  in  private  with  my  friend,  Mr.  GodalL?  " 

"  It  is  only  fair,"  answered  the  young  man.  "  If  you 
will  permit,  I  will  retire." 

"  You  will  be  very  obliging,"  said  the  Colonel. 

As  soon  as  the  two  were  alone — "  What,"  said  Prince 
Florizel,  "is  the  use  of  this  confabulation,  Geraldine?  I 
see  you  are  flurried,  whereas  my  mind  is  very  tranquilly 
made  up.    I  will  see  the  end  of  this." 

"  Your  Highness,"  said  the  Colonel  turning  pale ;  "  let 
me  ask  you  to  consider  the  importance  of  your  life,  not  only 
to  your  friends,  but  to  the  pubhc  interest.  '  If  not  to-night,' 
said  this  madman;  but  supposing  that  to-night  some  irrep- 
arable disaster  were  to  overtake  your  Highness's  person, 
what,  let  me  ask  you,  what  would  be  my  despair,  and  what 
the  concern  and  disaster  of  a  great  nation.''  " 

"  I  will  see  the  end  of  this,"  repeated  the  Prince  in  his 

10 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

most  deliberate  tones ;  "  and  have  the  kindness,  Colonel 
Geraldine,  to  remember  and  respect  your  word  of  honor 
as  a  gentleman.  Under  no  circumstances,  recollect,  nor 
without  my  special  authority,  are  you  to  betray  the  incognito 
under  which  I  choose  to  go  abroad.  These  were  my  com- 
mands, which  I  now  reiterate.  And  now,"  he  added,  "  let 
me  ask  you  to  call  for  the  bill." 

Colonel  Geraldine  bowed  in  submission ;  but  he  had  a  very 
white  face  as  he  summoned  the  young  man  of  the  cream 
tarts,  and  issued  his  directions  to  the  waiter.  The 
Prince  preserved  his  undisturbed  demeanor,  and  described 
a  Palais  Royal  farce  to  the  young  suicide  with  great  humor 
and  gusto.  He  avoided  the  Colonel's  appealing  looks  with- 
out ostentation,  and  selected  another  cheroot  with  more  than 
usual  care.  Indeed,  he  was  now  the  only  man  of  the  party 
who  kept  any  command  over  his  nerves. 

The  bill  was  discharged,  the  Prince  giving  the  whole 
change  of  the  note  to  the  astonished  waiter;  and  the  three 
drove  off  in  a  four  wheeler.  They  were  not  long  upon 
the  way  before  the  cab  stopped  at  the  entrance  to  a  rathei 
dark  court.     Here  all  descended. 

After  Geraldine  had  paid  the  fare,  the  young  man 
turned,  and  addressed  Prince  Florizel  as  follows : 

"  It  is  still  time,  Mr.  Godall,  to  make  good  your  escape 
into  thralldom.  And  for  you  too.  Major  Hammersmith. 
Reflect  well  before  you  take  another  step ;  and  if  your  hearts 
say  no — here  are  the  crossroads." 

"  Lead  on,  sir,"  said  the  Prince.  "  I  am  not  the  man 
to  go  back  from  a  thing  once  said." 

"  Your  coolness  does  me  good,"  replied  their  guide.  "  I 
have  never  seen  anyone  so  unmoved  at  this  conjuncture;  and 
yet  you  are  not  the  first  whom  I  have  escorted  to  this  door. 
More  than  one  of  my  friends  has  preceded  me,  where  I  knew 
I  must  shortly  follow.  But  this  is  of  no  interest  to  you. 
Wait  me  here  for  only  a  few  moments;  I  shall  return  as 
soon  as  I  have  arranged  the  preliminaries  of  your  intro- 
duction." 

And  with  that  the  young  man,  waving  his  hand  to  his 

11 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

companions,  turned  into  the  court,  entered  a  doorway  and 
disappeared. 

"  Of  all  our  follies,"  said  Colonel  Geraldine  in  a  low 
voice,  "  this  is  the  wildest  and  most  dangerous." 

**  I  perfectly  believe  so,"  returned  the  Prince. 

"  We  have  still,"  pursued  the  Colonel,  "  a  moment  to 
ourselves.  Let  me  beseech  your  Highness  to  profit  by  the 
opportunity  and  retire.  The  consequences  of  this  step  are 
so  dark,  and  may  be  so  grave,  that  I  feel  myself  justified  in 
pushing  a  little  farther  than  usual  the  liberty  which  your 
Highness  is  so  condescending  as  to  allow  me  in  private." 

"  Am  I  to  understand  that  Colonel  Geraldine  is  afraid?  " 
asked  his  Highness,  taking  his  cheroot  from  his  lips,  and 
looking  keenly  into  the  other's  face. 

"  My  fear  is  certainly  not  personal,"  replied  the  other 
proudly ;  "  of  that  your  Highness  may  rest  well  assured." 

"  I  had  supposed  as  much,"  returned  the  Prince,  with! 
undisturbed  good  humor ;  "  but  I  was  unwilling  to  remind 
you  of  the  difference  in  our  stations.  No  more — ^no  more." 
he  added,  seeing  Geraldine  about  to  apologize,  *'  you  stand 
excused." 

And  he  smoked  placidly,  leaning  against  a  railing,  until 
the  young  man  returned. 

"  Well,"  he  asked,  "  has  our  reception  been  arranged?  " 

"  Follow  me,"  was  the  reply.  "  The  President  will  see 
you  in  the  cabinet.  And  let  me  warn  you  to  be  frank  in 
your  answers.  I  have  stood  your  guarantee;  but  the  club 
requires  a  searching  inquiry  before  admission;  for  the  in- 
discretion of  a  single  member  would  lead  to  the  dispersion 
of  the  whole  society  forever." 

The  Prince  and  Geraldine  put  their  heads  together  for  a 
moment.  "  Bear  me  out  in  this,"  said  the  one ;  and  "  bear 
me  out  in  that,"  said  the  other ;  and  by  boldly  taking  up  the 
characters  of  men  with  whom  both  were  acquainted,  they  had 
come  to  an  agreement  In  a  twinkling,  and  were  ready  to  fol- 
low their  guide  into  the  President's  cabinet. 

There  were  no  formidable  obstacles  to  pass.  The  outer 
door  stood  open;  the  door  of  the  cabinet  was  ajar;  and  there, 

12 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

in  a  small  but  very  high  apartment,  the  young  man  left  them 
once  more. 

"  He  will  be  here  Immediately,"  he  said  with  a  nod,  as  he 
disappeared. 

Voices  were  audible  In  the  cabinet  through  the  folding 
doors  which  formed  one  end ;  and  now  and  then  the  noise 
of  a  champagne  cork,  followed  by  a  burst  of  laughter,  inter- 
vened among  the  sounds  of  conversation.  A  single  tall 
window  looked  out  upon  the  river  and  the  embankment;  and 
by  the  disposition  of  the  lights  they  judged  themselves  not 
far  from  Charing  Cross  station.  The  furniture  was  scanty, 
and  the  coverings  worn  to  the  thread;  and  there  was  noth- 
ing movable  except  a  hand-bell  in  the  centre  of  a  round 
table,  and  the  hats  and  coats  of  a  considerable  party  hung 
round  the  wall  on  pegs. 

"What  sort  of  a  den  Is  this?"  said  Geraldine. 

"  That  is  Avhat  I  have  come  to  see,"  replied  the  Prince. 
*'  If  they  keep  live  devils  on  the  premises,  the  thing  may 
grow  amusing." 

K-  Just  then  the  folding  door  was  opened  no  more  than 
necessary  for  the  passage  of  a  human  body ;  and  there 
entered  at  the  same  moment  a  louder  buzz  of  talk,  and  the 
redoubtable  President  of  the  Suicide  Club.  The  President 
was  a  man  of  fifty  or  upwards ;  large  and  rambling  In  his 
gait,  with  shaggy  side-whiskers,  a  bald  top  to  his  head,  and 
a  veiled  gray  eye,  which  now  and  then  emitted  a  twinkle. 
His  mouth,  which  embraced  a  large  cigar,  he  kept  continu- 
ally screwing  round  and  round  and  from  side  to  side,  as  he 
looked  sagaciously  and  coldly  at  the  strangers.  He  was 
dressed  in  light  tweeds,  with  his  neck  very  open,  in  a  striped 
shirt  collar ;  and  carried  a  minute  book  under  one  arm. 
■  "  Good  evening,"  said  he,  after  he  had  closed  the  door 
behind  him.     "  I  am  told  you  wish  to  speak  with  me." 

"We  have  a  desire,  sir.  to  join  the  Suicide  Club,"  replied 
the  Colonel. 

The  President  rolled  his  cigar  about  In  his  mouth. 

,"  What  Is  that?  "  he  said  abruptly. 

"  Pardon  me,"  returned  the  Colonel,  "  but  I  believe  you 

13 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

are  the  person  best  qualified  to  give  us  information  on  that 
point." 

"I?"  cried  the  President.  "A  Suicide  Club?  Come, 
come !  this  is  a  frolic  for  All  Fools'  Day.  I  can  make  allow- 
ances for  gentlemen  who  get  merry  in  their  liquor;  but  let 
there  be  an  end  to  this." 

"  Call  your  Club  what  you  will,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  you 
have  some  company  behind  these  doors,  and  we  insist  on 
joining  it." 

"  Sir,"  returned  the  President,  curtly,  "  you  have  made 
a  mistake.  This  is  a  private  house,  and  you  must  leave  it 
instantly." 

The  Prince  had  remained  quietly  in  his  seat  throughout 
this  little  colloquy ;  but  now,  when  the  Colonel  looked  over 
to  him,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Take  your  answer  and  come 
away,  for  God's  sake ! "  he  drew  his  cheroot  from  his  mouth, 
and  spoke — 

"  I  have  come  here,"  said  he,  "  upon  the  invitation  of  a 
friend  of  yours.  He  has  doubtless  informed  you  of  my 
intention  in  thus  intruding  on  your  party.  Let  me  remind 
you  that  a  person  in  my  circumstances  has  exceedingly  little 
to  bind  him,  and  is  not  at  all  likely  to  tolerate  much  rude- 
ness. I  am  a  very  quiet  man,  as  a  usual  thing ;  but,  my  dear 
sir,  you  are  either  going  to  oblige  me  in  the  little  matter 
of  which  you  are  aware,  or  you  shall  very  bitterly  repent 
that  you  ever  admitted  me  to  your  ante-chamber." 

The  President  laughed  aloud. 

"  That  is  the  way  to  speak,"  said  he.  "  You  are  a  man 
who  is  a  man.  You  know  the  way  to  my  heart,  and  can  do 
what  you  like  with  me.  Will  you,"  he  continued,  addressing 
Geraldine,  "  will  you  step  aside  for  a  few  minutes  ?  I  shall 
finish  first  with  your  companion,  and  some  of  the  club's 
formalities  require  to  be  fulfilled  in  private." 

With  these  words  he  opened  the  door  of  a  small  closet, 
into  which  be  shut  the  Colonel. 

"  I  beheve  in  you,"  he  said  to  Florizel,  as  soon  as  they 
were  alone ;  "  but  are  you  sure  of  your  friend  ?  " 

*'  Not  so  sure  as  I  am  of  myself,  though  he  has  more 

14 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

cogent  reasons,"  answered  Florizel,  "  but  sure  enough  to 
bring  him  here  without  alarm.  He  has  had  enough  to  cure 
the  most  tenacious  man  of  Hfe.  He  was  cashiered  the  other 
day  for  cheating  at  cards." 

"  A  good  reason,  I  daresay,"  replied  the  President ;  "  at 
least,  we  have  another  in  the  same  case,  and  I  feel  sure  of 
him.     Have  you  also  been  in  the  Service,  may  I  ask?" 

"  I  have,"  was  the  reply ;  "  but  I  was  too  lazy,  I  left  it 
early." 

"  What  is  your  reason  for  being  tired  of  life.''  "  pursued 
the  President. 

"  The  same,  as  near  as  I  can  make  out,"  answered  the 
Prince ;  "  unadulterated  laziness." 

The    President    started.      "  D ^n    it,"    said    he,    "  you 

must  have  something  better  than  that." 

"  I  have  no  more  money,"  added  Florizel.  "  That  is  also 
a  vexation,  without  doubt.  It  brings  my  sense  of  idleness 
to  an  acute  point," 

The  President  rolled  his  cigar  round  in  his  mouth  for 
some  seconds,  directing  his  gaze  straight  into  the  eyes  of 
this  unusual  neophyte ;  but  the  Prince  supported  his  scrutiny 
with  unabashed  good  temper. 

"  If  I  had  not  a  deal  of  experience,"  said  the  President  at 
last,  "  I  should  turn  you  off.  But  I  know  the  world ;  and 
this  much  any  way,  that  the  most  frivolous  excuses  for  a 
suicide  are  often  the  toughest  to  stand  by.  And  when  I 
downright  like  a  man,  as  I  do  you,  sir,  I  would  rather  strain 
the  regulation  than  deny  him." 

The  Prince  and  the  Colonel,  one  after  the  other,  were  sub- 
jected to  a  long  and  particular  interrogatory:  the  Prince 
alone;  but  Geraldine  in  the  presence  of  the  Prince,  so  that 
the  President  might  observe  the  countenance  of  the  one  while 
the  other  was  being  warmly  cross-examined.  The  result  was 
satisfactory ;  and  the  President,  after  having  booked  a  few 
details  of  each  case,  produced  a  form  of  oath  to  be  accepted. 
Nothing  could  be  conceived  more  passive  than  the  obedience 
promised,  or  more  stringent  than  the  terms  by  which  the 
juror  bound  himself.     The  man  who  forfeited  a  pledge  so 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

awful  could  scarcely  have  a  Tag  of  honor  or  any  of  the 
consolations  of  religion  left  to  him.  Florizel  signed  the 
document,  but  not  without  a  shudder;  the  Colonel  followed 
his  example  with  an  air  of  great  depression.  Then  the 
President  received  the  entry  money ;  and  without  more  ado, 
introduced  the  two  friends  into  the  smoking-room  of  the 
Suicide  Club. 

The  smoking-room  of  the  Suicide  Club  was  the  same 
height  as  the  cabinet  into  which  it  opened,  but  much  larger, 
and  papered  from  top  to  bottom  with  an  imitation  of  oak 
wainscot.  A  large  and  cheerful  fire  and  a  number  of  gas- 
jets  illuminated  the  company.  The  Prince  and  his  follower 
made  the  number  up  to  eighteen.  Most  of  the  party  were 
smoking,  and  drinking  champagne;  a  feverish  hilarity 
reigned,  with  sudden  and  rather  ghastly  pauses. 

"  Is  this  a  full  meeting?  "  asked  the  Prince. 

"  Middling,"  said  the  President.  "  By  the  way,"  he 
added,  "  If  you  have  any  money,  it  is  usual  to  offer  some 
champagne.  It  keeps  up  a  good  spirit,  and  Is  one  of  my 
own  httle  perquisites." 

"  Hammersmith,"  said  Florizel,  "  I  may  leave  the  cham- 
pagne to  you." 

And  with  that  he  turned  away  and  began  to  go  round 
among  the  guests.  Accustomed  to  play  the  host  In  the 
highest  circles,  he  charmed  and  dominated  all  whom  he  ap- 
proached ;  there  was  something  at  once  winning  and  authori- 
tative In  his  address ;  and  his  extraordinary  coolness  gave 
him  yet  another  distinction  In  this  half  maniacal  society.  As 
he  went  from  one  to  another  he  kept  both  his  eyes  and  ears 
open,  and  soon  began  to  gain  a  general  idea  of  the  people 
among  whom  he  found  himself.  As  In  all  other  places  of 
resort,  one  type  predominated:  people  In  the  prime  of 
youth,  with  every  show  of  Intelligence  and  sensibility  In  their 
appearance,  but  with  little  promise  of  strength  or  the  quality 
that  makes  success.  Few  were  much  above  thirty,  and  not  a 
few  were  still  In  their  teens.  They  stood,  leaning  on  tables 
and  shifting  on  their  feet;  sometimes  they  smoked  extraor- 
dinarily fast,  and  sometimes  they  let  their  cigars  go  out; 

16 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

some  talked  well,  but  the  conversation  of  others  was  plainly 
the  result  of  nervous  tension,  and  was  equally  without  wit 
or  purport.  As  each  new  bottle  of  champagne  was  opened, 
there  was  a  manifest  improvement  in  gaiety.  Only  two  were 
seated — one  in  a  chair  in  the  recess  of  the  window,  with  his 
head  hanging  and  his  hands  plunged  deep  into  his  trouser 
pockets,  pale,  visibly  moist  with  perspiration,  saying  never 
a  word,  a  very  wreck  of  soul  and  body ;  the  other  sat  on  the 
divan  close  by  the  chimney,  and  attracted  notice  by  a  trench- 
ant dissimilarity  from  all  the  rest.  He  was  probably 
upwards  of  forty,  but  he  looked  fully  ten  years  older;  and 
Florlzel  thought  he  had  never  seen  a  man  more  naturally 
hideous,  nor  one  more  ravaged  by  disease  and  ruinous  ex- 
citements. He  was  no  more  than  skin  and  bone,  was  partly 
paralyzed,  and  wore  spectacles  of  such  unusual  power,  that 
his  eyes  appeared  through  the  glasses  greatly  magnified  and 
distorted  in  shape.  Except  the  Prince  and  the  President, 
he  was  the  only  person  in  the  room  who  preserved  the  com- 
posure of  ordinary  life. 

There  was  little  decency  among  the  members  of  the  club. 
Some  boasted  of  the  disgraceful  actions,  the  consequences 
of  which  had  reduced  them  to  seek  refuge  in  death ;  and  the 
others  listened  without  disapproval.  There  was  a  tacit  un- 
derstanding against  moral  judgments;  and  whoever  passed 
the  club  doors  enjoyed  already  some  of  the  immunities  of 
the  tomb.  They  drank  to  each  other's  memories,  and  to 
those  of  notable  suicides  In  the  past.  They  compared  and 
developed  their  different  views  of  death — some  declaring 
that  it  was  no  more  than  blackness  and  cessation ;  others  full 
of  a  hope  that  that  very  night  they  should  be  scaling  the 
stars  and  commercing  with  the  mighty  dead. 

"  To  the  eternal  memory  of  Baron  Trenck,  the  type  of 
suicides !  "  cried  one.  "  He  went  out  of  a  small  cell  into  a 
smaller,  that  he  might  come  forth  again  to  freedom." 

"  For  my  part,"  said  a  second,  "  I  wish  no  more  than  a 
bandage  for  my  eyes  and  cotton  for  my  ears.  Only  they 
have  no  cotton  thick  enough  in  this  world." 

A  third  was  for  reading  the  mysteries  of  life  in  a  future 

17 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

state;  and  a  fourth  professed  that  he  would  never  have 
joined  the  club,  if  he  had  not  been  induced  to  believe  in 
Mr.  Darwin. 

"  I  could  not  bear,"  said  this  remarkable  suicide,  "  to  be 
descended  from  an  ape.'* 

Altogether,  the  Prince  was  disappointed  by  the  bearing 
and  conversation  of  the  members. 

"  It  does  not  seem  to  me,"  he  thought,  "  a  matter  for  so 
much  disturbance.  If  a  man  has  made  up  his  mind  to  kill 
himself,  let  him  do  it,  in  God's  name,  like  a  gentleman.  This 
flutter  and  big  talk  is  out  of  place." 

In  the  meanwhile  Colonel  Geraldine  was  a  prey  to  the 
blackest  apprehensions ;  the  club  and  its  rules  were  still  a 
mystery,  and  he  looked  round  the  room  for  some  one  who 
should  be  able  to  set  his  mind  at  rest.  In  this  survey  his 
eye  lighted  on  the  paralytic  person  with  the  strong  spec- 
tacles ;  and  seeing  him  so  exceedingly  tranquil,  he  besought 
the  President,  who  was  going  in  and  out  of  the  room  under 
a  pressure  of  business,  to  present  him  to  the  gentleman  on 
the  divan. 

The  functionary  explained  the  needlessness  of  all  such 
formalities  within  the  club,  but  nevertheless  presented  Mr. 
Hammersmith  to  Mr.  Malthus. 

Mr.  Malthus  looked  at  the  Colonel  curiously,  and  then 
requested  him  to  take  a  seat  upon  his  right. 

"You  are  a  newcomer,"  he  said,  "and  wish  information? 
You  have  come  to  the  proper  source.  It  is  two  years  since 
I  first  visited  this  charming  club." 

The  Colonel  breathed  again.  If  Mr.  Malthus  had  fre- 
quented the  place  for  two  years  there  could  be  little  danger 
for  the  Prince  in  a  single  evening.  But  Geraldine  was 
none  the  less  astonished,  and  began  to  suspect  a  mysti- 
fication. 

"  What !  "  cried  he,  "  two  years  !  I  thought — ^but  indeed 
I  see  I  have  been  made  the  subject  of  a  pleasantry." 

*'  By  no  means,"  replied  Mr.  Malthus  mildly.  "  My  case 
is  pecuHar.  I  am  not,  properly  speaking,  a  suicide  at  all; 
but,  as  it  were,  an  honorary  member.     I  rarely  visit  the 

18 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

club  twice  In  two  months.  My  infirmity  and  the  kindness 
of  the  President  have  procured  me  these  little  immunities, 
for  which  besides  I  pay  at  an  advanced  rate.  Even  as  it  is 
my  luck  has  been  extraordinary." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  that  I  must  ask  you  to 
be  more  explicit.  You  must  remember  that  I  am  still  most 
imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  the  club." 

"  An  ordinary  member  who  gomes  here  in  search  of  death 
like  yourself,"  replied  the  paralytic,  "  returns  every  even- 
ing until  fortune  favors  him.  He  can,  even  if  he  is  penni- 
less, get  board  and  lodging  from  the  President:  very  fair, 
I  believe,  and  clean,  although,  of  course,  not  luxurious ;  that 
could  hardly  be,  considering  the  exiguity  (if  I  may  so  ex- 
press myself)  of  the  subscription.  And  then  the  President's 
company  is  a  delicacy  in  itself." 

"  Indeed !  "  cried  Geraldine,  "  he  had  not  greatly  pre- 
possessed me." 

"  Ah ! "  said  Mr.  Malthus,  "  you  do  not  know  the  man : 
the  drollest  fellow !  What  stories !  What  cynicism !  He 
knows  hfe  to  admiration  and,  between  ourselves,  is  prob- 
ably the  most  corrupt  rogue  in  Christendom." 

"  And  he  also,"  asked  the  Colonel,  "  is  a  permanency — 
like  yourself,  if  I  may  say  so  without  offence.'*  " 

"  Indeed,  he  is  a  permanency  in  a  very  different  sense 
from  me,"  replied  Mr.  Malthus.  "  I  have  been  graciously 
spared,  but  I  must  go  at  last.  Now  he  never  plays.  He 
shuffles  and  deals  for  the  club,  and  makes  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements. That  man,  my  dear  Mr.  Hammersmith,  is  the 
very  soul  of  ingenuity.  For  three  years  he  has  pursued  in 
London  his  useful  and,  I  think  I  may  add,  his  artistic  call- 
ing; and  not  so  much  as  a  whisper  of  suspicion  has  been  once 
aroused.  I  believe  him  myself  to  be  inspired.  You  doubt- 
less remember  the  celebrated  case,  six  months  ago,  of  the 
gentleman  who  was  accidentally  poisoned  in  a  chemist's  shop  ? 
That  was  one  of  the  least  rich,  one  of  the  least  racy,  of  his 
notions ;  but  then,  how  simple !  and  how  safe !  " 

"  You  astound  me,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  Was  that  unfor- 
tunate gentleman  one  of  the "     He  was  about  to  say 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  victims  " ;  but  bethinking  himself  in  time,  he  substituted — - 
*'  members  of  the  club  ?  " 

In  the  same  flash  of  thought,  it  occurred  to  him  that  Mr. 
Malthus  himself  had  not  at  all  spoken  in  the  tone  of  one 
who  is  in  love  with  death ;  and  he  added  hurriedly : 

*'  But  I  perceive  I  am  still  in  the  dark.  You  speak  of 
shuffling  and  dealing;  pray  for  what  end?  And  since  you 
seem  rather  unwilling  to  die  than  otherwise,  I  must  own  that 
I  cannot  conceive  what  brings  you  here  at  all." 

**  You  say  truly  that  you  are  in  the  dark,"  replied  Mr. 
Malthus  with  more  animation.  "  Why,  my  dear  sir,  this 
club  is  the  temple  of  intoxication.  If  my  enfeebled  health 
could  support  the  excitement  more  often,  you  may  depend 
upon  it  I  should  be  more  often  here.  It  requires  all  the  sense 
of  duty  engendered  by  a  long  habit  of  ill-health  and  careful 
regimen,  to  keep  me  from  excess  in  this,  which  is,  I  may  say, 
my  last  dissipation.  I  have  tried  them  all,  sir,"  he  went  on, 
laying  his  hand  on  Geraldine's  arm,  "  all  without  exception, 
and  I  declare  to  you,  upon  my  honor,  there  is  not  one  of 
them  that  has  not  been  grossly  and  untruthfully  overrated. 
People  trifle  with  love.  Now,  I  deny  that  love  is  a  strong 
passion.  Fear  is  the  strong  passion ;  it  is  with  fear  that  you 
must  trifle,  if  you  wish  to  taste  the  intense  joys  of  living. 
Envy  me — envy  me,  sir,"  he  added  with  a  chuckle,  "  I  am  a 
coward ! " 

Geraldine  could  scarcely  repress  a  movement  of  repulsion 
for  this  deplorable  wretch;  but  he  commanded  himself  with 
an  effort,  and  continued  his  inquiries. 

"  How,  sir,"  he  asked,  "  is  the  excitement  so  artfully  pro- 
longed.? and  where  is  there  any  element  of  uncertainty.?  " 

*'  I  must  tell  you  how  the  victim  for  every  evening  is 
selected,"  returned  Mr.  Malthus ;  "  and  not  only  the  victim, 
but  another  member,  who  is  to  be  the  instrument  in  the  club's 
hands,  and  death's  liigh  priest  of  that  occasion." 

"  Good  God !  "  said  the  Colonel,  "  do  they  then  kill  each 
other.?  " 

"  The  trouble  of  suicide  is  removed  in  that  way,"  returned 
Malthus  with  a  nod. 

20 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

"Merciful  Heavens!  "  ejaculated  the  Colonel,  "  and  may 
you — may  I — may  the — ^my  friend,  I  mean — may  any  of 
us  be  pitched  upon  this  evening  as  the  slayer  of  another 
man's  body  and  immortal  spirit?  Can  such  things  be 
possible  among  men  bom  of  women?  Oh!  infamy  of 
infamies ! " 

He  was  about  to  rise  in  his  horror,  when  he  caught  the 
Prince's  eye.  It  was  fixed  upon  him  from  across  the  room 
with  a  frowning  and  angry  stare.  And  in  a  moment  Ger- 
aldine  recovered  his  composure. 

"After  all,"  he  added,  "why  not?  And  since  you  say 
the  game  is  interesting,  vogue  la  galere — I  follow  the  club !  " 

Mr.  Malthus  had  keenly  enjoyed  the  Colonel's  amazement 
and  disgust.  He  had  the  vanity  of  wickedness ;  and  it 
pleased  him  to  see  another  man  give  way  to  a  generous 
movement,  while  he  felt  himself,  in  his  entire  corruption, 
superior  to  such  em.otions. 

"  You  now,  after  your  first  moment  of  surprise,"  said  he, 
"  are  in  a  position  to  appreciate  the  delights  of  our  society. 
You  can  see  how  it  combines  the  excitement  of  a  gaming- 
table, a  duel,  and  a  Roman  amphitheatre.  The  Pagans  did 
well  enough;  I  cordially  admire  the  refinement  of  their 
minds ;  but  it  has  been  reserved  for  a  Christian  country  to 
attain  this  extreme,  this  quintessence,  this  absolute  of 
poignancy.  You  will  understand  how  vapid  are  all  amuse- 
ments to  a  man  who  has  acquired  a  taste  for  this  one.  The 
game  we  play,"  he  continued,  "  is  one  of  extreme  simplicity. 
A  full  pack — ^but  I  perceive  you  are  about  to  see  the  tiling 
in  progress.  Will  you  lend  me  the  help  of  your  arm?  I 
am  unfortunately  paralyzed." 

Indeed,  just  as  Mr.  Malthus  was  beginning  his  descrip- 
tion, another  pair  of  folding-doors  was  thrown  open,  and 
the  whole  club  began  to  pass,  not  without  some  hurry,  into 
the  adjoining  room.  It  was  similar  in  every  respect  to  the 
one  from  which  it  was  entered,  but  somewhat  differently 
furnished.  The  centre  was  occupied  by  a  long  green  table, 
at  which  the  President  sat  shuffling  a  pack  of  cards  with 
great  particularity.     Even  with  the  stick  and  the  Colonel's 

21 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

arm,  Mr.  Malthus  walked  with  so  much  difficulty  that  every- 
one was  seated  before  this  pair  and  the  Prince,  who  had 
waited  for  them,  entered  the  apartment ;  and,  in  consequence, 
the  three  took  seats  close  together  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
board. 

"  It  is  a  pack  of  fifty-two,"  whispered  Mr.  Malthus. 
"  Watch  for  the  ace  of  spades,  which  is  the  sign  of  death, 
and  the  ace  of  clubs,  which  designates  the  official  of  the 
night.  Happy,  happy  young  men !  "  he  added.  "  You  have 
good  eyes,  and  can  follow  the  game.  Alas !  I  cannot  tell  an 
ace  from  a  deuce  across  the  table." 

And  he  proceeded  to  equip  himself  with  a  second  pair  of 
spectacles. 

"  I  must  at  least  watch  the  faces,"  he  explained. 

The  Colonel  rapidly  informed  his  friend  of  all  that  he 
had  learned  from  the  honorary  member,  and  of  the  horrible 
alternative  that  lay  before  them.  The  Prince  was  conscious 
of  a  deadly  chill  and  a  contraction  about  his  heart;  he  swal- 
lowed with  difficulty,  and  looked  from  side  to  side  like  a  man 
in  a  maze. 

"  One  bold  stroke,"  whispered  the  Colonel,  "  and  we  may 
still  escape." 

But  the  suggestion  recalled  the  Prince's  spirits. 

*'  Silence !  "  said  he.  "  Let  me  see  that  you  can  play  like 
a  gentleman  for  any  stake,  however  serious." 

And  he  looked  about  him,  once  more  to  all  appearance  at 
his  ease,  although  his  heart  beat  thickly,  and  he  was  con- 
scious of  an  unpleasant  heat  in  his  bosom.  The  members 
were  all  very  quiet  and  intent;  everyone  was  pale,  but  none 
so  pale  as  Mr.  Malthus.  His  eyes  protruded;  his  head  kept, 
nodding  involuntarily  upon  his  spine;  his  hands  found  their 
way,  one  after  the  other,  to  his  mouth,  where  they  made 
clutches  at  his  tremulous  and  ashen  lips.  It  was  plain  that 
the  honorary  member  enjoyed  his  membership  on  very  start- 
ling terms. 

"  Attention,  gentlemen !  "  said  the  President. 

And  he  began  slowly  dealing  the  cards  about  the  table 
in  the  reverse  direction,  pausing  until  each  man  had  shown 

22 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

his  card.  Nearly  everyone  hesitated;  and  sometimes  you 
would  see  a  player's  fingers  stumble  more  than  once  before 
he  could  turn  over  the  momentous  slip  of  pasteboard.  As 
the  Prince's  turn  drew  nearer,  he  was  conscious  of  a  grow- 
ing and  almost  suffocating  excitement ;  but  he  had  some- 
what of  the  gambler's  nature,  and  recognized  almost  with 
astonishment  that  there  was  a  degree  of  pleasure  in  his 
sensations.  The  nine  of  clubs  fell  to  his  lot;  the  three  of 
spades  was  dealt  to  Geraldine;  and  the  queen  of  hearts  to 
Mr.  Malthus,  who  was  unable  to  suppress  a  sob  of  relief. 
The  young  man  of  the  cream  tarts  almost  immediately  after- 
wards turned  over  the  ace  of  clubs,  and  remained  frozen 
with  horror,  the  card  still  resting  on  his  finger;  he  had  not 
come  there  to  kill,  but  to  be  killed;  and  the  Prince,  in  his 
generous  sympathy  with  his  position,  almost  forgot  the  peril 
that  still  hung  over  himself  and  his  friend. 

The  deal  was  coming  round  again,  and  still  Death's  card 
had  not  come  out.  The  players  held  their  respiration,  and 
only  breathed  by  gasps.  The  Prince  received  another  club ; 
Geraldine  had  a  diamond;  but  when  Mr.  Malthus  turned  up 
his  card  a  horrible  noise,  like  that  of  something  breaking, 
issued  from  his  mouth ;  and  he  rose  from  his  seat  and  sat 
down  again,  with  no  sign  of  his  paralysis.  It  was  the  ace 
of  spades.  The  honorary  member  had  trifled  once  too  often 
with  his  terrors. 

Conversation  broke  out  again  almost  at  once.  The 
players  relaxed  their  rigid  attitudes,  and  began  to  rise 
from  the  table  and  stroll  back  by  twos  and  threes  into  the 
smoking-room.  The  President  stretched  his  arms  and 
yawned,  like  a  man  who  had  finished  his  day's  work.  But 
Mr.  Malthus  sat  in  his  place,  with  his  head  in  his  hands, 
and  his  hands  upon  the  table,  drunk  and  motionless — a 
thing  stricken  down. 

The  Prince  and  Geraldine  made  their  escape  at  once.  In 
the  cold  night  air  their  horror  of  what  they  had  witnessed 
was  redoubled. 

"  Alas ! "  cried  the  Prince,  "  to  be  bound  by  an  oath  in 
such  a  matter  1  to  allow  this  wholesale  trade  in  murder  to  be 

23 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

continued  with  profit  and  impunity!  If  I  but  dared  to 
forfeit  my  pledge !  " 

"  That  is  impossible  for  your  Highness,"  replied  the 
Colonel,  whose  honor  is  the  honor  of  Bohemia.  "  But  I 
dare,  and  may  with  propriety,  forfeit  mine." 

"  Geraldine,"  said  the  Prince,  "  if  your  honor  suffers  in 
any  of  the  adventures  into  which  you  follow  me,  not  only 
will  I  never  pardon  you,  but — what  I  believe  will  much  more 
sensibly  affect  you— I  should  never  forgive  myself." 

"  I  receive  your  Highness's  commands,"  replied  the 
Colonel.     "  Shall  we  go  from  this  accursed  spot.''  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Prince.  "  Call  a  cab  in  Heaven's  name, 
and  let  me  try  to  forget  in  slumber  the  memory  of  this 
night's  disgrace." 

But  it  was  notable  that  he  carefully  read  the  name  of  the 
court  before  he  left  it. 

The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  the  Prince  was  stirring, 
Colonel  Geraldine  brought  him  a  daily  newspaper,  with  the 
following  paragraph  marked: — 

"  Melancholy  Accident. — This  morning,  about  two 
o'clock,  Mr.  Bartholomew  Malthus,  of  16  Chepstow  Place, 
Westbourne  Grove,  on  his  way  home  from  a  party  at  a 
friend's  house,  fell  over  the  upper  parapet  in  Trafalgar 
Square,  fracturing  his  skull  and  breaking  a  leg  and  an 
arm.  Death  was  instantaneous.  Mr.  Malthus,  accompanied 
by  a  friend,  was  engaged  in  looking  for  a  cab  at  the  time 
of  the  unfortunate  occurrence.  As  Mr.  Malthus  was  para- 
lytic, it  is  thought  that  his  fall  may  have  been  occasioned  by 
another  seizure.  The  unhappy  gentleman  was  well  known 
in  the  most  respectable  circles,  and  his  loss  will  be  widely 
and  deeply  deplored." 

"  If  ever  a  soul  went  straight  to  Hell,"  said  Geraldine 
solemnly,  "  it  was  that  paralytic  man's." 

The  Prince  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  remained 
silent. 

"  I  am  almost  rejoiced,"  continued  the  Colonel,  "  to  know 
that  he  is  dead.  But  for  our  young  man  of  the  cream  tarts 
I  confess  my  heart  bleeds." 

24 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

"  Geraldine,"  said  the  Prince,  raising  liis  face,  "  that  un- 
happy lad  was  last  night  as  innocent  as  you  and  I ;  and  this 
morning  the  guilt  of  blood  is  on  his  soul.  When  I  think  of 
the  President,  my  heart  grows  sick  within  me.  I  do  not 
know  how  it  shall  be  done,  but  I  shall  have  that  scoundrel 
at  my  mercy  as  there  is  a  God  in  Heaven.  What  an  experi- 
ence, what  a  lesson,  was  that  game  of  cards !  " 

"  One,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  never  to  be  repeated." 

The  Prince  remained  so  long  without  replying,  that  Geral- 
dine grew  alarmed. 

"  You  cannot  mean  to  return,"  he  said.  "  You  have  suf- 
fered too  much  and  seen  too  much  horror  already.  Tht 
duties  of  your  high  position  forbid  the  repetition  of  the 
hazard." 

"  There  is  much  in  what  you  say,"  replied  Prince  Florizel, 
**  and  I  am  not  altogether  pleased  with  my  own  determina- 
tion. Alas !  in  the  clothes  of  the  greatest  potentate,  what  is 
there  but  a  man  ?  I  never  felt  my  weakness  more  acutely  than 
now,  Geraldine,  but  it  is  stronger  than  I.  Can  I  cease  to 
interest  myself  in  the  fortunes  of  the  unhappy  young  man 
who  supped  with  us  some  hours  ago.''  Can  I  leave  the  Pres- 
ident to  follow  his  nefarious  career  unwatched.f*  Can  I  begin 
an  adventure  so  entrancing,  and  not  follow  it  to  an  end.''  No, 
Geraldine ;  you  ask  of  the  Prince  more  than  the  man  is  able 
to  perform.  To-night,  once  more,  we  take  our  places  at  the 
table  of  the  Suicide  Club." 

Colonel  Geraldine  fell  upon  his  knees. 

"  Will  your  Highness  take  my  life?  "  he  cried.  *'  It  is 
his — his  freely;  but  do  not,  Oh,  do  not!  let  him  ask  me  to 
countenance  so  terrible  a  risk." 

"  Colonel  Geraldine,"  replied  the  Prince,  with  some 
haughtiness  of  manner,  "  your  life  is  absolutely  your  own. 
I  only  looked  for  obedience;  and  when  that  is  unwillingly 
rendered,  I  shall  look  for  that  no  longer.  I  add  one  word: 
your  importunity  in  this  affair  has  been  sufficient." 

The  Master  of  the  Horse  regained  his  feet  at  once. 
"  Your  Highness,"  he  said,  "  may  I  be  excused  in  my  attend- 
ance this  afternoon.''    I  dare  not,  as  an  honorable  man,  ven- 

25 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

ture  a  second  time  into  that  fatal  house  until  I  have 
perfectly  ordered  my  affairs.  Your  Highness  shall  meet,  I 
promise  him,  with  no  more  opposition  from  the  most  devoted 
and  grateful  of  his  servants.^' 

"  My  dear  Geraldine,"  returned  Prince  Florizel,  "  I  al- 
ways regret  when  you  oblige  me  to  remember  my  rank.  Dis- 
pose of  your  day  as  you  think  fit,  but  be  here  before  eleven 
in  the  same  disguise." 

The  club,  on  this  second  evening,  was  not  so  fully  at- 
tended; and  when  Geraldine  and  the  Prince  arrived,  there 
were  not  above  half  a  dozen  persons  in  the  smoking-room. 
His  Highness  took  the  President  aside  and  congratulated 
him  warmly  on  the  demise  of  Mr.  Malthus. 

"  I  like,"  he  said,  "  to  meet  with  capacity,  and  certainly 
find  much  of  it  in  you.  Your  profession  is  of  a  very  delicate 
nature,  but  I  see  you  are  well  qualified  to  conduct  it  with 
success  and  secrecy." 

The  President  was  somewhat  affected  by  these  compli- 
ments from  one  of  his  Highness's  superior  bearing.  He 
acknowledged  them  almost  with  humility. 

"Poor  Malthy!"  he  added,  "I  shall  hardly  know  the 
club  without  him.  The  most  of  my  patrons  are  boys,  sir, 
and  poetical  boys,  who  are  not  much  company  for  me.  Not 
but  what  Malthy  had  some  poetry,  too ;  but  it  was  of  a  kind 
that  I  could  understand." 

"  I  can  readily  imagine  you  should  find  yourself  In  sym- 
pathy with  Mr.  Malthus,"  returned  the  Prince.  "  He  struck 
me  as  a  man  of  a  very  original  disposition." 

The  young  man  of  the  cream  tarts  was  In  the  room,  but 
painfully  depressed  and  silent.  His  late  companions  sought 
in  vain  to  lead  him  Into  conversation. 

"  How  bitterly  I  wish,"  he  cried,  "  that  I  had  never 
brought  you  to  this  Infamous  abode!  Begone,  while  you 
are  clean-handed.  If  you  could  have  heard  the  old  man 
scream  as  he  fell,  and  the  noise  of  his  bones  upon  the  pave- 
ment! Wish  me,  if  you  have  any  kindness  to  so  fallen  a 
being — wish  the  ace  of  spades  for  me  to-night !  " 

A  few  more  members  dropped  In  as  the  evening  went  oni 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

but  the  club  did  not  muster  more  than  the  devil's  dozen  when 
they  took  their  places  at  the  table.  The  Prince  was  again 
conscious  of  a  certain  joy  in  his  alarms;  but  he  was  aston- 
ished to  see  Geraldine  so  much  more  self-possessed  than  on 
the  night  before. 

"  It  is  extraordinary,"  thought  the  Prince,  "  that  a  will, 
made  or  unmade,  should  so  greatly  influence  a  young  man's 
spirit." 

"  Attention,  gentlemen ! "  said  the  President,  and  he  be- 
gan to  deal. 

Three  times  the  cards  went  all  round  the  table,  and 
neither  of  the  marked  cards  had  yet  fallen  from  his  hand. 
The  excitement  as  he  began  the  fourth  distribution  was  over- 
whelming. There  were  just  cards  enough  to  go  once  more 
entirely  round.  The  Prince,  who  sat  second  from  the  dealer's 
left,  would  receive,  in  the  reverse  mode  of  dealing  practiced 
at  the  club,  the  second  last  card.  The  third  player  turned 
up  a  black  ace — it  was  the  ace  of  clubs.  The  next  received 
a  diamond,  the  next  a  heart,  and  so  on ;  but  the  ace  of  spades 
was  still  undelivered.  At  last  Geraldine,  who  sat  upon  the 
Prince's  left,  turned  his  card;  it  was  an  ace,  but  the  ace  of 
hearts. 

When  Prince  Florizel  saw  his  fate  upon  the  table  in  front 
of  him,  his  heart  stood  still.  He  was  a  brave  man,  but  the 
sweat  poured  off  his  face.  There  were  exactly  fifty  chances 
out  of  a  hundred  that  he  was  doomed.  He  reversed  the  card ; 
it  was  the  ace  of  spades.  A  loud  roaring  filled  his  brain,  and 
the  table  swam  before  his  eyes.  He  heard  the  player  on  his 
right  break  into  a  fit  of  laughter  that  sounded  between  mirth 
and  disappointment;  he  saw  the  company  rapidly  dispers- 
ing, but  his  mind  was  full  of  other  thoughts.  He  recognized 
how  foolish,  how  criminal,  had  been  his  conduct.  In  perfect 
health,  in  the  prime  of  his  years,  the  heir  to  a  throne,  he  had 
gambled  away  his  future  and  that  of  a  brave  and  loyal 
country.  "  God,"  he  cried,  "  God  forgive  me !  "  And  with 
that,  the  confusion  of  his  senses  passed  away,  and  he  re- 
gained his  self-possession  in  a  moment. 

To  his  surprise  Geraldine  had  disappeared.     There  was 

27 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

no  one  In  the  card-room  but  his  destined  butcher  consulting 
with  the  President,  and  the  young  man  of  the  cream  tarts, 
who  slipped  up  to  the  Prince  and  whispered  In  his  ear: 

"  I  would  give  a  million,  if  I  had  it,  for  your  luck." 

His  Highness  could  not  help  reflecting,  as  the  young  man 
departed,  that  he  would  have  sold  his  opportunity  for  a 
much  more  moderate  sum. 

The  whispered  conference  now  came  to  an  end.  The 
holder  of  the  ace  of  clubs  left  the  room  with  a  look  of  In- 
telligence, and  the  President,  approaching  the  unfortunate 
Prince,  proffered  him  his  hand. 

*'  I  am  pleased  to  have  met  you,  sir,"  said  he,  "  and  pleased 
to  have  been  In  a  position  to  do  you  this  trifling  service.  At 
least,  you  cannot  complain  of  delay.  On  the  second  even- 
ing— what  a  stroke  of  luck  !  " 

The  Prince  endeavored  in  vain  to  articulate  something  In 
response,  but  his  mouth  was  dry  and  his  tongue  seemed 
paralyzed. 

"You  feel  a  little  sicklsh.?  "  asked  the  President,  with 
some  show  of  solicitude.  "  Most  gentlemen  do.  Will  you 
take  a  little  brandy  ?  " 

The  Prince  signified  in  the  affirmative,  and  the  other  im- 
mediately filled  some  of  the  spirit  into  a  tumbler. 

"Poor  old  Malthy!"  ejaculated  the  President,  as  the 
Prince  drained  the  glass.  "  He  drank  near  upon  a  pint, 
and  little  enough  good  it  seemed  to  do  him !  " 

*'  I  am  more  amenable  to  treatment,"  said  the  Prince,  a 
good  deal  revived.  "  I  am  my  own  man  again  at  once,  as 
you  perceive.  And  so,  let  me  ask  you,  what  are  my 
directions,?  " 

"  You  win  proceed  along  the  Strand  In  the  direction  of 
the  City,  and  on  the  left-hand  pavement,  until  you  meet  the 
gentleman  who  has  just  left  the  room.  He  will  continue 
your  Instructions,  and  him  you  will  have  the  kindness  to 
obey;  the  authority  of  the  club  Is  vested  in  his  person  for 
the  night.  And  now,"  added  the  President,  "  I  wish  you  a 
pleasant  walk." 

Florizel   acknowledged  the   salutation   rather   awkwardly, 

28 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

and  took  his  leave.  He  passed  through  the  smoking-room, 
where  the  bulk  of  the  players  were  still  consuming  cham- 
pagne, some  of  which  he  had  himself  ordered  and  paid  for ; 
and  he  was  surprised  to  find  himself  cursing  them  in  his 
heart.  He  put  on  his  hat  and  great  coat  in  the  cabinet,  and 
selected  his  umbrella  from  a  comer.  The  familiarity  of 
these  acts,  and  the  thought  that  he  was  about  them  for  the 
last  time,  betrayed  him  into  a  fit  of  laughter  which  sounded 
unpleasantly  in  his  own  ears.  He  conceived  a  reluctance  to 
leave  the  cabinet,  and  turned  instead  to  the  window.  The 
sight  of  the  lamps  and  the  darkness  recalled  him  to  himself. 

"  Come,  come,  I  must  be  a  man,"  he  thought,  "  and  tear 
myself  away." 

At  the  corner  of  Box  Court  three  men  fell  upon  Prince 
Florizel  and  he  was  unceremoniously  thrust  into  a  carriage, 
which  at  once  drove  rapidly  away.  There  was  already  an 
occupant. 

"  Will  your  Highness  pardon  my  zeal.?  "  said  a  well-known 
voice. 

The  Prince  threw  himself  upon  the  Colonel's  neck  in  a 
passion  of  relief. 

"  How  can  I  ever  thank  you.?  "  he  cried.  "  And  how  was 
this  effected.?  " 

Although  he  had  been  willing  to  march  upon  his  doom, 
he  was  overjoyed  to  yield  to  friendly  violence,  and  return 
once  more  to  life  and  hope. 

"  You  can  thank  me  effectually  enough,"  replied  the 
Colonel,  "  by  avoiding  all  such  dangers  in  the  future.  And 
as  for  your  second  question,  all  has  been  managed  by  the 
simplest  means.  I  arranged  this  afternoon  with  a  celebrated 
detective.  Secrecy  has  been  promised  and  paid  for.  Your 
own  servants  have  been  principally  engaged  in  the  affair. 
The  house  in  Box  Court  has  been  surrounded  since  nightfall, 
and  this,  which  is  one  of  your  own  carriages,  has  been  await- 
ing you  for  nearly  an  hour." 

"  And  the  miserable  creature  who  was  to  have  slain  me — 
what  of  him?  "  inquired  the  Prince. 

"He  was  pinioned  as  he  left  the  club,"  replied  the  Colonel, 

29 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  and  now  awaits  your  sentence  at  the  Palace,  where  he  will 
soon  be  joined  by  his  accomplices." 

"  Geraldine,"  said  the  Prince,  "  you  have  saved  me  against 
my  explicit  orders,  and  you  have  done  well.  I  owe  you  not 
only  my  life,  but  a  lesson ;  and  I  should  be  unworthy  of  my 
rank  if  I  did  not  show  myself  grateful  to  my  teacher.  Let 
it  be  yours  to  choose  the  manner." 

There  was  a  pause,  during  which  the  carriage  continued 
to  speed  through  the  streets,  and  the  two  men  were  each 
buried  in  his  own  reflections.  The  silence  was  broken  by 
Colonel  Geraldine. 

"  Your  Highness,"  said  he,  "  has  by  this  time  a  consider- 
able body  of  prisoners.  There  is  at  least  one  criminal  among 
the  number  to  whom  justice  should  be  dealt.  Our  oath  for- 
bids us  all  recourse  to  law;  and  discretion  would  forbid  it 
equally  if  the  oath  were  loosened.  May  I  inquire  your  High- 
ness's  intention  ?  " 

*'  It  is  decided,"  answered  Florizel ;  "  the  President  must 
fall  in  duel.     It  only  remains  to  choose  his  adversary." 

"  Your  Highness  has  permitted  me  to  name  my  own 
recompense,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  Will  he  permit  me  to  ask 
the  appointment  of  my  brother.''  It  is  an  honorable  post, 
but  I  dare  assure  your  Highness  that  the  lad  will  acquit 
himself  with  credit." 

*'  You  ask  me  an  ungracious  favor,"  said  the  Prince,  "  but 
I  must  refuse  you  nothing." 

The  Colonel  kissed  his  hand  with  the  greatest  affection ; 
and  at  that  moment  the  carriage  rolled  under  the  archway 
of  the  Prince's  splendid  residence. 

An  hour  after,  Florizel  In  his  official  robes,  and  covered 
with  all  the  orders  of  Bohemia,  received  the  members  of  the 
Suicide  Club. 

"  Foolish  and  wicked  men,"  said  he,  "  as  many  of  you 
as  have  been  driven  Into  this  strait  by  the  lack  of  fortune 
shall  receive  employment  and  remuneration  from  my  oflScers. 
Those  who  suffer  under  a  sense  of  guilt  must  have  recourse 
to  a  higher  and  more  generous  Potentate  than  I.  I  feel  pity 
for  all  of  you,  deeper  than  you  can  imagine ;  to-morrow  you 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

shall  tell  me  your  stories ;  and  as  you  answer  more  frankly, 
I  shall  be  the  more  able  to  remedy  your  misfortunes.  As 
for  you,"  he  added,  turning  to  the  President,  "  I  should  only 
offend  a  person  of  your  parts  by  any  offer  of  assistance; 
but  I  have  instead  a  piece  of  diversion  to  propose  to  you. 
Here,"  laying  his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  Colonel  Geral- 
dine's  young  brother,  "  is  an  officer  of  mine  who  desires  to 
make  a  little  tour  upon  the  Continent ;  and  I  ask  you,  as  a 
favor,  to  accompany  him  on  this  excursion.  Do  you,"  he 
went  on,  changing  his  tone,  "  do  you  shoot  well  with  the 
pistol?  Because  you  may  have  need  of  that  accomplishment. 
When  two  men  go  traveling  together,  it  is  best  to  be  pre- 
pared for  all.  Let  me  add  that,  if  by  any  chance  you  should 
lose  young  Mr.  Geraldine  upon  the  way,  I  shall  always  have 
another  member  of  my  household  to  place  at  your  disposal; 
and  I  am  known,  Mr.  President,  to  have  long  eyesight,  and 
as  long  an  arm." 

With  these  words,  said  with  much  sternness,  the  Prince 
concluded  his  address.  Next  morning  the  members  of  the 
club  were  suitably  provided  for  by  his  munificence,  and  the 
President  set  forth  upon  his  travels,  under  the  supervision 
of  Mr.  Geraldine,  and  a  pair  of  faithful  and  adroit  lackeys, 
well  trained  in  the  Prince's  household.  Not  content  with 
this,  discreet  agents  were  put  in  possession  of  the  house  of 
Box  Court,  and  all  letters  of  visitors  for  the  Suicide  Club  or 
its  officials  were  to  be  examined  by  Prince  Florizel  in  person. 

Here  (says  my  Arabian  author)  ends  The  Story  of  the 
Young  Man  with  the  Cream  Tarts,  ivJio  is  now  a  com- 
fortable householder  in  Wigmore  Street,  Cavendish  Square. 
The  number,  for  obvious  reasons,  I  suppress.  Tlwse  who 
care  to  pursue  the  adventures  of  Prince  Florizel  and  the 
President  of  the  Suicide  Club,  may  read  the  History  of  the 
Physician  and  the  Saratoga  Trunk. 


81 


STORY   OF    THE    PHYSICIAN    AND    THE    SARATOGA   TRUNK 

MR.  SILAS  Q.  SCUDDAMORE  was  a  young  Amer- 
ican of  a  simple  and  harmless  disposition,  which  was 
the  more  to  his  credit  as  he  came  from  New  England — a 
quarter  of  the  New  World  not  precisely  famous  for  those 
qualities.  Although  he  was  exceedingly  rich,  he  kept  a  note 
'of  all  his  expenses  in  a  little  paper  pocket-book;  and  he  had 
chosen  to  study  the  attractions  of  Paris  from  the  seventh 
story  of  what  is  called  a  furnished  hotel,  in  the  Latin  Quar- 
ter. There  was  a  great  deal  of  habit  in  his  penuriousness ; 
and  his  virtue,  which  was  very  remarkable  among  his  asso- 
ciates, was  principally  founded  upon  diffidence  and  youth. 

The  next  room  to  his  was  inhabited  by  a  lady,  very  at- 
tractive in  her  air  and  very  elegant  in  toilette,  whom,  on  his 
first  arrival,  he  had  taken  for  a  Countess.  In  course  of  time 
he  had  learned  that  she  was  knowr  by  the  name  of  Madame 
Zephyrine,  and  that  whatever  station  she  occupied  in  life  it 
was  not  that  of  a  person  of  title.  Madame  Zephyrine,  prob- 
ably in  the  hope  of  enchanting  the  j^oung  American,  used  to 
flaunt  by  him  on  the  stairs  with  a  civil  inclination,  a  word  of 
course,  and  a  knock-down  look  out  of  her  black  eyes,  and 
disappear  in  a  rustle  of  silk,  and  with  the  revelation  of  an 
admirable  foot  and  ankle.  But  these  advances,  so  far  from 
encouraging  Mr.  Scuddamore,  plunged  him  into  the  depths 
of  depression  and  bashfulness.  She  had  come  to  him  several 
times  for  a  light,  or  to  apologize  for  the  imaginary  depreda- 
tions of  her  poodle,  but  his  mouth  was  closed  in  the  presence 
of  so  superior  a  being,  his  French  promptly  left  him,  and  he 
could  only  stare  and  stammer  until  she  was  gone.  The  slen- 
derness  of  their  intercourse  did  not  prevent  him  from  throw- 
ing out  insinuations  of  a  very  glorious  order  when  he  was 
safely  alone  with  a  few  males. 

d2 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

The  room  on  the  other  side  of  the  American's — for  there 
were  three  rooms  on  a  floor  in  the  hotel — ^was  tenanted  by  an 
old  English  physician  of  rather  doubtful  reputation.  Dr. 
Noel,  for  that  was  his  name,  had  been  forced  to  leave  Lon- 
don, where  he  enjoyed  a  large  and  increasing  practice;  and 
it  was  hinted  that  the  police  had  been  the  instigators  of  this 
change  of  scene.  At  least  he,  who  had  made  something  of  a 
figure  in  earlier  life,  now  dwelt  in  the  Latin  Quarter  in  great 
simplicity  and  solitude,  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  to 
study.  Mr.  Scuddamore  had  made  his  acquaintance,  and  the 
pair  would  now  and  then  dine  together  frugally  in  a  restau- 
rant across  the  street. 

Silas  Q.  Scuddamore  had  many  little  vices  of  the  more 
respectable  order,  and  was  not  restrained  by  delicacy  from 
indulging  them  in  many  rather  doubtful  ways.  Chief  among 
his  foibles  stood  curiosity.  He  was  a  bom  gossip ;  and  life, 
and  especially  those  parts  of  it  in  which  he  had  no  experience, 
interested  him  to  the  degree  of  passion.  He  was  a  pert,  in- 
\ancible  questioner,  pushing  his  inquiries  with  equal  per- 
tinacity and  indiscretion ;  he  had  been  observed,  when  he 
took  a  letter  to  the  post,  to  weigh  it  in  his  hand,  to  turn  it 
over  and  over,  and  to  study  the  address  with  care ;  and  when 
he  found  a  flaw  in  the  partition  between  his  room  and 
Madame  Zephyrine's,  instead  of  filling  it  up,  he  enlarged 
and  improved  the  opening,  and  made  use  of  it  as  a  spy-hole 
on  his  neighbor's  aff'airs. 

One  day,  in  the  end  of  March,  his  curiosity  grew  as  it 
was  indulged  and  he  enlarged  the  hole  a  httle  further,  so 
that  he  might  command  another  corner  of  the  room.  That 
evening,  when  he  went  as  usual  to  inspect  INIadame  Zephy- 
rine's movements,  he  was  astonished  to  find  the  aperture 
obscured  in  an  odd  manner  on  the  other  side,  and  stiU  more 
abashed  when  the  obstacle  was  suddenly  withdrawn  and  a 
titter  of  laughter  reached  his  ears.  Some  of  the  plaster 
had  evidently  betrayed  the  secret  of  his  spy-hole,  and  his 
neighbor  had  been  returning  the  comphment  in  kind.  Mr. 
Scuddamore  was  moved  to  a  very  acute  feeling  of  annoy- 
ance; he  condemned  Madame   Zephyrine   unmercifully;  he 

33 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

even  blamed  himself;  but  when  he  found,  next  day,  that  she 
had  taken  no  means  to  baulk  him  of  his  favorite  pastime, 
he  continued  to  profit  by  her  carelessness,  and  gratify  his 
idle  curiosity. 

That  next  day  Madame  Zephyrine  received  a  long  visit 
from  a  tall,  loosely-built  man  of  fifty  or  upwards,  whom 
Silas  had  not  hitherto  seen.  His  tweed  suit  and  colored 
shirt,  no  less  than  his  shaggy  side-whiskers,  identified  him  as 
a  Britisher,  and  his  dull  gray  eye  affected  Silas  with  a  sense 
of  cold.  He  kept  screwing  his  mouth  from  side  to  side  and 
round  and  round  during  the  whole  colloquy,  which  was  car- 
ried on  in  whispers.  More  than  once  it  seemed  to  the  young 
New  Englander  as  if  their  gestures  indicated  his  own  apart- 
ment ;  but  the  only  thing  definite  he  could  gather  by  the  most 
scrupulous  attention  was  this  remark  made  by  the  English- 
man in  a  somewhat  higher  key,  as  if  in  answer  to  some 
reluctance  or  opposition. 

"  I  have  studied  his  taste  to  a  nicety,  and  I  tell  you  again 
and  again  you  are  the  only  woman  of  the  sort  that  I  can  lay 
my  hands  on." 

In  answer  to  this,  Madame  Zephyrine  sighed,  and  ap- 
peared by  a  gesture  to  resign  herself,  like  one  yielding  to 
unqualified  authority. 

That  afternoon  the  observatory  was  finally  blinded,  a 
wardrobe  having  been  drawn  in  front  of  it  upon  the  other 
side,  and  while  Silas  was  still  lamenting  over  this  misfortune, 
which  he  attributed  to  the  Britisher's  malign  suggestion,  the 
concierge  brought  him  up  a  letter  in  a  female  handwriting. 
It  was  conceived  in  French  of  no  very  rigorous  orthography, 
bore  no  signature,  and  in  the  most  encouraging  terms  invited 
the  young  American  to  be  present  in  a  certain  part  of  the 
BuUier  Ball  at  eleven  o'clock  that  night.  Curiosity  and 
timidity  fought  a  long  battle  in  his  heart ;  sometimes  he  was 
all  virtue,  sometimes  all  fire  and  daring;  and  the  result  of 
it  was  that,  long  before  ten,  Mr.  Silas  Q.  Scuddamore  pre- 
sented himself  in  unimpeachable  attire  at  the  door  of  the 
BulUer  Ball  Rooms,  and  paid  his  entry  money  with  a  sense 
of  reckless  deviltry  that  was  not  without  its  charm. 

^4 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

It  was  Carnival  time,  and  the  Ball  was  very  full  and  noisy. 
The  lights  and  the  crowd  at  first  rather  abashed  our  young 
adventurer,  and  then,  mounting  to  his  brain  with  a  sort  of 
intoxication,  put  him  in  possession  of  more  than  his  own 
share  of  manhood.  He  felt  ready  to  face  the  devil,  and 
strutted  in  the  ballroom  with  the  swagger  of  a  cavalier. 
While  he  was  thus  parading,  he  became  aware  of  Madame 
Zephyrine  and  her  Britisher  in  conference  behind  a  pillar. 
The  cat-like  spirit  of  eaves-dropping  overcame  him  at  once. 
He  stole  nearer  and  nearer  on  the  couple  from  behind,  until 
he  was  within  earshot. 

"  That  is  the  man,"  the  Britisher  was  saying ;  "  there — 
with  the  long  blond  hair — speaking  to  a  girl  in  green." 

Silas  identified  a  very  handsome  young  fellow  of  small 
stature,  who  was  plainly  the  object  of  this  designation. 

"  It  is  well,"  said  Madame  Zephyrine.  "  I  shall  do  my 
utmost.  But,  remember,  the  best  of  us  may  fail  in  such  a 
matter." 

"  Tut !  "  returned  her  companion ;  "  I  answer  for  the 
result.  Have  I  not  chosen  you  from  thirty "?  Go ;  but  be 
wary  of  the  Prince.  I  cannot  think  what  cursed  accident 
has  brought  him  here  to-night.  As  if  there  were  not  a  dozen 
balls  in  Paris  better  worth  his  notice  than  this  riot  of 
students  and  counter-jumpers !  See  him  where  he  sits,  more 
like  a  reigning  Emperor  at  home  than  a  Prince  upon  his 
holidays !  " 

Silas  was  again  lucky.  He  observed  a  person  of  rather 
a  full  build,  strikingly  handsome,  and  of  a  very  stately  and 
courteous  demeanor,  seated  at  table  with  another  handsome 
young  man,  several  years  his  junior,  who  addressed  him  with 
conspicuous  deference.  The  name  of  Prince  struck  grate- 
fully on  Silas's  republican  hearing,  and  the  aspect  of  the 
person  to  whom  that  name  was  applied  exercised  its  usual 
charm  upon  his  mind.  He  left  Madame  Zephyrine  and  her 
Englishman  to  take  care  of  each  other,  and  threading  his 
way  through  the  assembly,  approached  the  table  which  the 
Prince  and  his  confidant  had  honored  with  their  choice. 

"  I  teU   you,   Geraldine,"   the   former  was   saying,   "  the 

35 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

action  is  madness.  Yourself  (I  am  glad  to  remember  it) 
chose  your  brother  for  this  perilous  service,  and  you  are 
bound  in  duty  to  have  a  guard  upon  his  conduct.  He  has 
consented  to  delay  so  many  days  in  Paris ;  that  was  already 
an  imprudence,  considering  the  character  of  the  man  he  has 
to  deal  with;  but  now,  when  he  is  within  eight  and  forty 
hours  of  his  departure,  when  he  is  within  two  or  three  days 
of  the  decisive  trial,  I  ask  you,  is  this  a  place  for  him  to 
spend  his  time?  He  should  be  in  a  gallery  at  practice;  he 
should  be  sleeping  long  hours  and  taking  moderate  exercise 
on  foot ;  he  should  be  on  a  rigorous  diet,  without  white  wines 
or  brandy.  Does  the  dog  imagine  we  are  all  playing  comedy  ? 
The  thing  is  deadly  earnest,  Geraldine." 

"  I  know  the  lad  too  well  to  interfere,"  replied  Colonel 
Geraldine,  "  and  well  enough  not  to  be  alarmed.  He  is  more 
cautious  than  you  fancy,  and  of  an  indomitable  spirit.  If 
it  had  been  a  woman  I  should  not  say  so  much,  but  I  trust 
the  President  to  him  and  the  two  valets  without  an  in- 
stant's apprehension." 

"  I  am  gratified  to  hear  you  say  so,"  replied  the  Prince ; 
*'  but  my  mind  is  not  at  rest.  These  servants  are  well- 
trained  spies,  and  already  has  not  this  miscreant  succeeded 
three  times  in  eluding  their  observation  and  spending  several 
hours  on  end  in  private,  and  most  likely  dangerous,  affairs? 
An  amateur  might  have  lost  him  by  accident,  but  if  Rudolph 
and  Jerome  were  thrown  off  the  scent,  it  must  have  been  done 
on  purpose,  and  by  a  man  who  had  a  cogent  reason  and 
exceptional  resources." 

"  I  believe  the  question  is  now  one  between  my  brother 
and  myself,"  replied  Geraldine,  with  a  shade  of  offense  in 
his  tone. 

"  I  permit  it  to  be  so.  Colonel  Geraldine,"  returned  Prince 
Florizel.  "  Perhaps,  for  that  very  reason,  you  should  be  all 
the  more  ready  to  accept  my  counsels.  But  enough.  That 
girl  in  yellow  dances  well." 

And  the  talk  veered  into  the  ordinary  topics  of  a  Paris 
ballroom  in  the  Carnival. 

Silas  remembered  where  he  was,  and  that  the  hour  was 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

already  near  at  hand  when  he  ought  to  be  upon  the  scene  of 
his  assignation.  The  more  he  reflected  the  less  he  liked  the 
prospect,  and  as  at  that  moment  an  eddy  in  the  crowd  began 
to  draw  him  in  the  direction  of  the  door,  he  suffered  it  to 
carry  him  away  without  resistance.  The  eddy  stranded  him 
in  a  comer  under  the  gallery,  where  his  ear  was  immediately 
struck  with  the  voice  of  Madame  Zephyrine.  She  was  speak- 
ing in  French  with  the  young  man  of  the  blond  locks  who 
had  been  pointed  out  by  the  strange  Britisher  not  half  an 
hour  before. 

"  I  have  a  character  at  stake,"  she  said,  "  or  I  would  put 
no  other  condition  than  my  heart  recommends.  But  you 
have  only  to  say  so  much  to  the  porter,  and  he  will  let  you 
go  by  without  a  word." 

"  But  why  this  talk  of  debt?  "  objected  her  companion. 

*'  Heavens !  "  said  she,  "  do  you  think  I  do  not  understand 
my  own  hotel,?  " 

And  she  went  by,  clinging  affectionately  to  her  com- 
panion's arm. 

This  put  Silas  in  mind  of  his  billet. 

"  Ten  minutes  hence,"  thought  he,  "  and  I  may  be  walk- 
ing with  as  beautiful  a  woman  as  that,  and  even  better 
dressed — perhaps  a  real  lady,  possibly  a  woman  of  title." 

And  then  he  remembered  the  spelling,  and  was  a  little 
downcast. 

"  But  it  may  have  been  written  by  her  maid,"  he  imag- 
ined. 

The  clock  was  only  a  few  minutes  from  the  hour,  and  this 
immediate  proximity  set  his  heart  beating  at  a  curious  and 
rather  disagreeable  speed.  He  reflected  with  relief  that  he 
was  in  no  way  bound  to  put  in  an  appearance.  Virtue  and 
cowardice  were  together,  and  he  made  once  more  for  the 
door,  but  this  time  of  his  own  accord,  and  battling  against 
the  stream  of  people  which  was  now  moving  in  a  contrary 
direction.  Perhaps  this  prolonged  resistance  wearied  him, 
or  perhaps  he  was  in  that  frame  of  mind  when  merely  to 
continue  in  the  same  determination  for  a  certain  number  of 
minutes  produces  a  reaction  and  a  different  purpose,     Cer- 

n 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

tainlj,  at  least,  he  wheeled  about  for  a  third  time,  and  did 
not  stop  until  he  had  found  a  place  of  concealment  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  appointed  place. 

Here  he  went  through  an  agony  of  spirit,  in  which  he 
several  times  prayed  to  God  for  help,  for  Silas  had  been 
devoutly  educated.  He  had  now  not  the  least  inclination  for 
the  meeting;  nothing  kept  him  from  flight  but  a  silly  fear 
lest  he  should  be  thought  unmanly ;  but  this  was  so  powerful 
that  it  kept  head  against  all  other  motives ;  and  although  it 
could  not  decide  him  to  advance,  prevented  him  from  defi- 
nitely running  away.  At  last  the  clock  indicated  ten  minutes 
past  the  hour.  Young  Scuddamore's  spirit  began  to  rise; 
he  peered  round  the  corner  and  saw  no  one  at  the  place  of 
meeting;  doubtless  his  unknown  correspondent  had  wearied 
and  gone  away.  He  became  as  bold  as  he  had  formerly 
been  timid.  It  seemed  to  him  that  if  he  came  at  all  to  the 
appointment,  however  late,  he  was  clear  from  the  charge  of 
cowardice.  Nay,  now  he  began  to  suspect  a  hoax,  and  actu- 
ally complimented  himself  on  his  shrewdness  in  having  sus- 
pected and  out-manoeuvred  his  mystifiers.  So  very  idle  a 
thing  is  a  boy's  mind! 

Armed  with  these  reflections,  he  advanced  boldly  from  his 
corner;  but  he  had  not  taken  above  a  couple  of  steps  before 
a  hand  was  laid  upon  his  arm.  He  turned  and  beheld  a  lady 
cast  in  a  very  large  mould  and  with  somewhat  stately 
features,  but  bearing  no  mark  of  severity  in  her  looks, 

"  I  see  that  you  are  a  very  self-confident  lady-killer," 
said  she ;  "  for  you  make  yourself  expected.  But  I  was 
determined  to  meet  you.  When  a  woman  has  once  so  far 
forgotten  herself  as  to  make  the  first  advance,  she  has  long 
ago  left  behind  her  all  considerations  of  petty  pride." 

Silas  was  overwhelmed  by  the  size  and  attractions  of  his 
correspondent  and  the  suddenness  with  which  she  had  fallen 
upon  liim.  But  she  soon  set  him  at  his  ease.  She  was  very 
towardly  and  lenient  in  her  behavior ;  she  led  him  on  to  make 
pleasantries,  and  then  applauded  him  to  the  echo ;  and  in  a 
very  short  time,  between  blandishments  and  a  liberal  exhibi- 
tion of  warm  brandy,  she  had  not  only  induced  him  to  fancy 

88 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

himself  in  love,  but  to  declare  his  passion  with  the  greatest 
vehemence. 

"  Alas ! "  she  said ;  "  I  do  not  know  whether  I  ought  not 
to  deplore  this  moment,  great  as  is  the  pleasure  you  give  me 
by  your  words.  Hitherto  I  was  alone  to  suffer;  now,  poor 
boy,  there  will  be  two.  I  am  not  my  own  mistress.  I  dare 
not  ask  you  to  visit  me  at  my  own  house,  for  I  am  watched 
by  jealous  eyes.  Let  me  see,"  she  added;  "  I  am  older  than 
you,  although  so  much  weaker;  and  while  I  trust  in  your 
courage  and  determination,  I  must  employ  my  own  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  for  our  mutual  benefit.  Where  do  you 
Hve?» 

He  told  her  that  he  lodged  in  a  furnished  hotel,  and  named 
the  street  and  number. 

She  seemed  to  reflect  for  some  minutes,  with  an  effort  of 
mind. 

"  I  see,"  she  said  at  last.  "  You  will  be  faithful  and 
obedient,  will  you  not.?  " 

Silas  assured  her  eagerly  of  his  fidelity. 

*'  To-morrow  night,  then,"  she  continued,  with  an  en- 
couraging smile,  "  you  must  remain  at  home  all  the  evening ; 
and  if  any  friends  should  visit  you,  dismiss  them  at  once  on 
any  pretext  that  most  readily  presents  itself.  Your  door  is 
probably  shut  by  ten.-*  "  she  asked. 

"  By  eleven,"  answered  Silas. 

"  At  a  quarter  past  eleven,"  pursued  the  lady,  "  leave  the 
house.  Merely  cry  for  the  door  to  be  opened,  and  be  sure 
you  fall  into  no  talk  with  the  porter,  as  that  might  ruin 
everything.  Go  straight  to  the  comer  where  the  Luxem- 
bourg Gardens  join  the  Boulevard;  there  you  will  find  me 
waiting  you.  I  trust  you  to  follow  my  advice  from  point  to 
point:  and  remember,  if  you  fail  me  in  only  one  particular, 
you  will  bring  the  sharpest  trouble  on  a  woman  whose  only 
fault  is  to  have  seen  and  loved  you." 

"  I  cannot  see  the  use  of  all  these  instructions,"  said 
Silas. 

"  I  believe  you  are  already  beginning  to  treat  me  as  a 
master,"  she  cried,  tapping  him  with  her  fan  upon  the  arm. 

39 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  Patience,  patience !  that  should  come  in  time.  A  woman 
loves  to  be  obeyed  at  first,  although  afterwards  she  finds  her 
pleasure  in  obeying.  Do  as  I  ask  you,  for  Heaven's  sake, 
or  I  will  answer  for  nothing.  Indeed,  now  I  think  of  it,"  she 
added,  with  the  manner  of  one  who  had  just  seen  further 
into  a  difficult}^,  "  I  find  a  better  plan  of  keeping  impor- 
tunate visitors  away.  Tell  the  porter  to  admit  no  one  for 
you,  except  a  person  who  may  come  that  night  to  claim 
a  debt;  and  speak  with  some  feeling,  as  though  you 
feared  the  interview,  so  that  he  may  take  your  words  in 
earnest." 

"  I  think  you  may  trust  me  to  protect  myself  against  in- 
truders," he  said,  not  without  a  little  pique. 

"  That  is  how  I  should  prefer  the  thing  arranged,"  she 
answered,  coldly.  "  I  know  you  men ;  you  think  nothing  of 
a  woman's  reputation." 

Silas  blushed  and  somewhat  hung  his  head;  for  the 
scheme  he  had  in  view  had  involved  a  little  vain-glorying 
before  his  acquaintances. 

"  Above  all,"  she  added,  "  do  not  speak  to  the  porter  as 
you  come  out." 

"And  why.?"  said  he.  "Of  all  your  instructions,  that 
seems  to  me  the  least  important." 

"  You  at  first  doubted  the  wisdom  of  some  of  the  others, 
which  you  now  see  to  be  very  necessary,"  she  replied.  "  Be- 
lieve me,  this  also  has  its  uses ;  in  time  you  will  see  them ;  and 
what  am  I  to  think  of  your  affection,  if  you  refuse  me  such 
trifles  at  our  first  interview  ?  " 

Silas  confounded  himself  in  explanations  and  apologies ; 
in  the  middle  of  these  she  looked  up  at  the  clock  and  clapped 
her  hands  together  with  a  suppressed  scream. 

"  Heavens !  "  she  cried,  "  is  it  so  late  ?  I  have  not  an 
instant  to  lose.  Alas,  we  poor  women,  what  slaves  we  are! 
What  have  I  not  risked  for  you  already  ?  " 

And  after  repeating  her  directions,  which  she  artfully 
combined  with  caresses  and  the  most  abandoned  looks,  she 
bade  him  farewell  and  disappeared  among  the  crowd. 

The  whole  of  the  next  day  Silas  was  filled  with  a  sense  of 

40 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

^eat  importance ;  he  was  now  sure  she  was  a  countess ; 
and  when  evenmg  came  he  minutely  obeyed  her  orders  and 
was  at  the  comer  of  the  Luxembourg  Gardens  by  the  hour 
appointed.  No  one  was  there.  He  waited  nearly  half  an 
hour,  looking  in  the  face  of  everyone  who  passed  or  loitered 
near  the  spot ;  he  even  visited  the  neighboring  corners  of  the 
Boulevard  and  made  a  complete  circuit  of  the  garden  rail- 
ings ;  but  there  was  no  beautiful  countess  to  throw  herself 
into  his  arms.  At  last,  and  most  reluctantly,  he  began  to 
retrace  his  steps  towards  his  hotel.  On  the  way  he  remem- 
bered the  words  he  h^d  heard  pass  between  Madame  Zephy- 
rine  and  the  blond  young  man,  and  they  gave  him  an  in- 
definite uneasiness. 

"  It  appears,"  he  reflected,  "  that  everyone  has  to  tell  lies 
to  our  porter." 

He  rang  the  bell,  the  door  opened  before  him,  and  the 
porter  in  his  bed-clothes  came  to  offer  him  a  light. 

''  Has  he  gone.''  "  inquired  the  porter. 

"He.''  Whom  do  you  mean?"  asked  Silas,  somewhat 
sharply,  for  he  was  irritated  by  his  disappointment. 

"  I  did  not  notice  him  go  out,"  continued  the  porter,  "  but 
I  trust  3^ou  paid  him.  We  do  not  care,  in  this  house,  to  have 
lodgers  who  cannot  meet  their  liabilities." 

"  What  the  devil  do  you  mean  ?  "  demanded  Silas,  rudely. 
"  I  cannot  understand  a  word  of  this  farrago." 

"  The  short,  blond  young  man  who  came  for  his  debt," 
returned  the  other.  "  Him  it  is  I  mean.  Who  else  should  it 
be,  when  I  had  your  order's  to  admit  no  one  else?  " 

"  Why,  good  God,  of  course  he  never  came,'*  retorted 
Silas. 

"  I  believe  what  I  believe,"  retorted  the  porter,  putting 
his  tongue  into  his  cheek  with  a  most  roguish  air. 

"  You  are  an  insolent  scoundrel,"  cried  Silas,  and,  feeling 
that  he  had  made  a  ridiculous  exhibition  of  asperity,  and  at 
the  same  time  bewildered  by  a  dozen  alarms,  he  turned  and 
began  to  run  up  stairs. 

"  Do  you  not  want  a  light  then  ?  "  cried  the  porter. 

But  Silas  only  hurried  the  faster,  and  did  not  pause  untS 

41 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

he  had  reached  the  seventh  landing  and  stood  in  front  of  his 
own  door.  There  he  waited  a  moment  to  recover  his  breath, 
assailed  by  the  worst  forebodings  and  almost  dreading  to 
enter  the  room. 

When  at  last  he  did  so  he  was  relieved  to  find  it  dark,  and 
to  all  appearance,  untenanted.  He  drew  a  long  breath. 
Here  he  was,  home  again  in  safety,  and  this  should  be  his 
last  folly  as  certainly  as  it  had  been  his  first.  The  matches 
stood  on  a  little  table  by  the  bed,  and  he  began  to  grope  his 
way  in  that  direction.  As  he  moved,  his  apprehensions  grew 
upon  him  once  more,  and  he  was  pleased,  when  his  foot  en- 
countered an  obstacle,  to  find  it  nothing  more  alarming  than 
a  chair.  At  last  he  touched  curtains.  From  the  position  of 
the  window,  which  was  faintly  visible,  he  knew  he  must  be 
at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  had  only  to  feel  his  way  along  it 
in  order  to  reach  the  table  in  question. 

He  lowered  his  hand,  but  what  he  touched  was  not  simply 
a  counterpane — it  was  a  counterpane  with  something  under- 
neath it  like  the  outline  of  a  human  leg.  Silas  withdrew  his 
arm  and  stood  a  moment  petrified. 

"  What,  what,"  he  thought,  "  can  this  betoken  ?  " 

He  listened  intently,  but  there  was  no  sound  of  breathing. 
Once  more,  with  a  great  effort,  he  reached  out  the  end  of  his 
finger  to  the  spot  he  had  already  touched;  but  this  time  he 
leaped  back  half  a  yard,  and  stood  shivering  and  fixed  with 
terror.  There  was  something  in  his  bed.  What  it  was  he 
knew  not,  but  there  was  something  there. 

It  was  some  seconds  before  he  could  move.  Then,  guided 
by  an  instinct,  he  fell  straight  upon  the  matches,  and  keep- 
ing his  back  toward  the  bed,  lighted  a  candle.  As  soon  as 
the  flame  had  kindled,  he  turned  slowly  round  and  looked 
for  what  he  feared  to  see.  Sure  enough,  there  was  the  worst 
of  his  imaginations  realized.  The  coverlid  was  drawn  care- 
fully up  over  the  pillow,  but  it  moulded  the  outline  of  a 
human  body  lying  motionless ;  and  when  he  dashed  forward 
and  flung  aside  the  sheets,  he  beheld  the  blond  young  man 
whom  he  had  seen  in  the  Bullier  Ball  the  night  before,  his 
eyes   open   and   without   speculation,   his   face   swollen   and 

4,2 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

blackened,  and  a  thin  stream  of  blood  trickling  from  his 
nostrils. 

Silas  uttered  a  long,  tremulous  wail,  dropped  the  candle, 
and  fell  on  his  knees  beside  the  bed. 

Silas  was  awakened  from  the  stupor  into  which  his  terrible 
discovery  had  plunged  him,  by  a  prolonged  but  discreet 
tapping  at  the  door.  It  took  him  some  seconds  to  remember 
his  position ;  and  when  he  hastened  to  prevent  anyone  from 
entering  it  was  already  too  late.  Dr.  Noel,  in  a  tall  night- 
cap, carrying  a  lamp  which  lighted  up  his  long  white  counte- 
nance, sidling  in  his  gait,  and  peering  and  cocking  his  head 
hke  some  sort  of  bird,  pushed  the  door  slowly  open,  and 
advanced  into  the  middle  of  the  room. 

"  I  thought  I  heard  a  cry,"  began  the  Doctor,  "  and 
fearing  you  might  be  unwell,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  offer  this 
intrusion." 

Silas,  with  a  flushed  face  and  a  fearful  beating  heart,  kept 
between  the  Doctor  and  the  bed ;  but  he  found  no  voice  to 
answer. 

"  You  are  in  the  dark,"  pursued  the  Doctor ;  "  and  yet 
you  have  not  even  begun  to  prepare  for  rest.  You  will  not 
easily  persuade  me  against  my  own  eyesight ;  and  your  face 
declares  most  eloquently  that  you  require  either  a  friend  or 
a  physician — which  is  it  to  he?  Let  me  feel  your  pulse,  for 
that  is  often  a  just  reporter  of  the  heart." 

He  advanced  to  Silas,  who  still  retreated  before  him  back- 
wards, and  sought  to  take  him  by  the  wrist;  but  the  strain 
on  the  young  American's  nerves  had  become  too  great  for 
endurance.  He  avoided  the  Doctor  with  a  febrile  movement, 
and,  throwing  himself  upon  the  floor,  burst  into  a  flood  of 
weeping. 

As  soon  as  Dr.  Noel  perceived  the  dead  man  In  the  bed  his 
face  darkened;  and  hurrying  back  to  the  door  which  he  had 
left  ajar,  he  hastily  closed  and  double-locked  it. 

"  Up ! "  he  cried,  addressing  Silas  in  strident  tones. 
"  This  is  no  time  for  weeping.  What  have  you  done.''  How 
came  this  body  in  your  room.  Speak  freely  to  one  who 
may  be  helpful.     Do  you  imagine  I  would  ruin  you.''     Do 

43 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

you  think  this  piece  of  dead  flesh  on  your  pillow  can  alter 
in  any  degree  the  S3^mpathy  with  which  you  have  inspired 
me?  Credulous  youth,  the  horror  with  which  blind  and  un- 
just law  regards  an  action  never  attaches  to  the  doer  in  the 
eyes  of  those  who  love  him ;  and  if  I  saw  the  friend  of  my 
heart  return  to  me  out  of  seas  of  blood  he  would  be  in  no 
way  changed  in  my  affection.  Raise  yourself,"  he  said ; 
"  good  and  ill  are  a  chimera ;  there  is  naught  in  life  except 
destiny,  and  however  you  may  be  circumstanced  there  is  one 
at  your  side  who  will  help  you  to  the  last." 

Thus  encouraged,  Silas  gathered  himself  together,  and 
in  a  broken  voice,  and  helped  out  by  the  Doctor's  interroga- 
tion, contrived  at  last  to  put  him  in  possession  of  the  facts. 
But  the  conversation  between  the  Prince  and  Geraldine  he 
altogether  omitted,  as  he  had  understood  little  of  its  pur- 
port, and  had  no  idea  that  it  was  in  any  way  related  to  his 
own  misadventure. 

"  Alas !  "  cried  Dr.  Noel,  "  I  am  much  abused,  or  you 
have  fallen  innocently  into  the  most  dangerous  hands  in 
Europe.  Poor  boy,  what  a  pit  has  been  dug  for  your  sim- 
phcity!  into  what  a  deadly  peril  have  your  unwary  feet  been 
conducted!  This  man,"  he  said,  "this  Englishman,  whom 
you  twice  saw,  and  whom  I  suspect  to  be  the  soul  of  tlie 
contrivance,  can  you  describe  him?  Was  he  young  or  old? 
tall  or  short?  " 

But  Silas,  who,  for  all  his  curiosity,  had  not  a  seeing  eye 
in  his  head,  was  able  to  supply  nothing  but  meagre  generali- 
ties, which  it  was  impossible  to  recognize. 

"  I  would  have  it  a  piece  of  education  in  all  schools !  " 
cried  the  Doctor  angrily.  "  Where  is  the  use  of  eyesight 
and  articulate  speech  if  a  man  cannot  observe  and  recollect 
the  features  of  his  enemy?  I,  who  know  all  the  gangs  of 
Europe,  might  have  identified  him,  and  gained  new  weapons 
for  your  defence.  Cultivate  this  art  in  future,  my  poor 
boy;  you  may  find  it  of  momentous  service." 

"  The  future !  "  repeated  Silas.  "  What  future  is  there 
left  for  me  except  the  gallows  ?  " 

"Youth  is  but  a  cowardly  season,"  returned  the  Doctor; 

44 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

"  and  a  man's  own  troubles  look  blacker  than  tbej  are.  I 
am  old,  and  yet  I  never  despair." 

"  Can  I  tell  such  a  story  to  the  police?  "  demanded  Silas. 

"  Assuredly  not,"  replied  the  Doctor.  "  From  what  I  see 
already  of  the  machination  in  which  you  have  been  involved, 
your  case  is  desperate  upon  that  side ;  and  for  the  narrow 
eye  of  the  authorities  you  are  infallibly  the  guilty  person. 
And  remember  that  we  only  know  a  portion  of  the  plot ;  and 
the  same  infamous  contrivers  have  doubtless  arranged  many 
other  circumstances  which  would  be  elicited  by  a  police  in- 
quiry, and  help  to  fix  the  guilt  more  certainly  upon  your 
innocence." 

"  I  am  then  lost,  indeed !  "  cried  Silas. 

"  I  have  not  said  so,"  answered  Dr.  Noel,  "  for  I  am  a 
cautious  man." 

"  But  look  at  this!  "  objected  Silas,  pointing  to  the  body. 
"  Here  is  this  object  in  my  bed:  not  to  be  explained,  not  to 
be  disposed  of,  not  to  be  regarded  without  horror." 

"Horror.''"  replied  the  Doctor.  "No.  When  this  sort 
of  clock  has  run  down,  it  is  no  more  to  me  than  an  ingenious 
piece  of  mechanism,  to  be  investigated  with  the  bistery. 
When  blood  is  once  cold  and  stagnant,  it  is  no  longer  human 
blood ;  when  flesh  is  once  dead,  it  is  no  longer  that  flesh  which 
we  desire  in  our  lovers  and  respect  in  our  friends.  The 
grace,  the  attraction,  the  terror,  have  all  gone  from  it  with 
the  animating  spirit.  Accustom  yourself  to  look  upon  it 
with  composure ;  for  if  my  scheme  is  practicable  you  will 
have  to  live  in  constant  proximity  to  that  wliicli  now  so 
greatly  horrifies  you." 

"Your  scheme.?"  cried  Silas.  "What  is  that.?  Tell  me 
speedily,  Doctor;  for  I  have  scarcely  courage  enough  to 
continue  to  exist." 

Without  replying,  Dr.  Noel  turned  towards  the  bed,  and 
proceeded  to  examine  the  corpse. 

"  Quite  dead,"  he  murmured.  "  Yes,  as  I  had  supposed, 
the  pockets  empty.  Yes,  and  the  name  cut  off  the  shiii;. 
Their  work  has  been  done  thoroughly  and  well.  Fortunately 
he  is  of  small  stature." 

45 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Silas  followed  these  words  with  an  extreme  anxiety.  At 
last  the  Doctor,  his  autopsy  completed,  took  a  chair  and 
addressed  the  young  American  with  a  smile. 

"  Since  I  came  into  your  room,"  said  he,  "  although  my 
ears  and  my  tongue  have  been  so  busy,  I  have  not  suffered 
my  eyes  to  remain  idle.  I  noted  a  Httle  while  ago  that  you 
have  there,  in  the  corner,  one  of  those  monstrous  constructions 
which  your  fellow-countrymen  carry  with  them  into  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe — in  a  word,  a  Saratoga  trunk.  Until  this 
moment  I  have  never  been  able  to  conceive  the  utility  of  these 
erections ;  but  then  I  began  to  have  a  glimmer.  Whether  it 
was  for  convenience  in  the  slave  trade,  or  to  obviate  the  re- 
sults of  too  ready  an  employment  of  the  bowie-knife,  I 
cannot  bring  myself  to  decide.  But  one  thing  I  see  plainly 
— the  object  of  such  a  box  is  to  contain  a  human  body." 

"  Surely,"  cried  Silas,  "  surely  this  is  not  a  time  for 
jesting." 

"  Although  I  may  express  myself  with  some  degree  of 
pleasantry,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  the  purport  of  my  words 
is  entirely  serious.  And  the  first  thing  we  have  to  do,  my 
young  friend,  is  to  empty  your  coffer  of  all  it  contains." 

Silas,  obeying  the  authority  of  Doctor  Noel,  put  himself 
at  his  disposition.  The  Saratoga  trunk  was  soon  gutted 
of  its  contents,  which  made  a  considerable  litter  on  the  floor; 
and  then — Silas  taking  the  heels  and  the  Doctor  supporting 
the  shoulders — the  body  of  the  murdered  man  was  carried 
from  the  bed,  and,  after  some  difficulty,  doubled  up  and 
inserted  whole  into  the  empty  box.  With  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  both,  the  lid  was  forced  down  upon  this  unusual  bag- 
gage, and  the  trunk  was  locked  and  corded  by  the  Doctor's 
own  hand,  while  Silas  disposed  of  what  had  been  taken  out 
between  the  closet  and  a  chest  of  drawers. 

"  Now,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  the  first  step  has  been  taken 
on  the  way  to  your  deliverance.  To-morrow,  or  rather  to- 
day, it  must  be  your  task  to  allay  the  suspicions  of  your 
porter,  paying  him  all  that  you  owe ;  while  you  may  trust  me 
to  make  the  arrangements  necessary  to  a  safe  conclusion. 
Meantime,  follow  me  to  my  room,  where  I  shall  give  you  a 

46 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

safe  and  powerful  opiate;  for,  whatever  jou  do  you  must 
have  rest." 

Tb«.  next  day  was  the  longest  in  Silas's  memory ;  it  seemed 
as  if  it  would  never  be  done.  He  denied  himself  to  his 
friends,  and  sat  in  a  corner  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
Saratoga  trunk  in  dismal  contemplation.  His  own  former 
indiscretions  were  now  returned  upon  him  in  kind ;  for  the 
observatory  had  been  once  more  opened,  and  he  was  conscious 
of  an  almost  continual  study  from  Madame  Zephyrine's 
apartment.  So  distressing  did  this  become,  that  he  was  at  last 
obliged  to  block  up  the  spy-hole  from  his  own  side;  and 
when  he  was  thus  secured  from  observation  he  spent  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  time  in  contrite  tears  and  prayer. 

Late  in  the  evening  Dr.  Noel  entered  the  room  carrying 
in  his  hand  a  pair  of  sealed  envelopes  without  address,  one 
somewhat  bulky,  and  the  other  so  slim  as  to  seem  without 
enclosure. 

"  Silas,"  he  said,  seating  himself  at  the  table,  "  the  time 
has  now  come  for  me  to  explain  my  plan  for  your  salvation. 
To-morrow  morning,  at  an  early  hour.  Prince  Florizel  of 
Bohemia  returns  to  London,  after  having  diverted  himself 
for  a  few  days  with  the  Parisian  Carnival.  It  was  my  for- 
tune, a  good  while  ago,  to  do  Colonel  Geraldine,  his  Master 
of  the  Horse,  one  of  those  services  so  common  in  my  pro- 
fession, which  are  never  forgotten  upon  either  side.  I  have 
no  need  to  explain  to  you  the  nature  of  the  obligation  under 
which  he  was  laid;  suffice  it  to  say  that  I  knew  him  ready 
to  serve  me  in  any  practicable  manner.  Now,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  you  to  gain  London  with  your  trunk  unopened. 
To  this  the  Custom  House  seemed  to  oppose  a  fatal  difficulty ; 
but  I  bethought  m.e  that  the  baggage  of  so  considerable  a 
person  as  the  Prince  is,  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  passed  with- 
out examination  by  the  officers  of  Custom.  I  applied  to 
Colonel  Geraldine,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  favorable 
answer.  To-morrow,  if  you  go  before  six  to  the  hotel  where 
the  Prince  lodges,  your  baggage  will  be  passed  over  as  a  part 
of  his,  and  you  yourself  will  make  the  journey  as  a  member 
of  his  suite." 

47 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  It  seems  to  me,  as  you  speak,  that  I  have  ah'eady  seen 
both  the  Prince  and  Colonel  Geraldine ;  I  even  overheard 
some  of  their  conversation  the  other  evening  at  the  Bullier 
Ball." 

"  It  is  probable  enough ;  for  the  Prince  loves  to  mix  with 
all  societies,"  replied  the  Doctor.  "  Once  arrived  in  Lon- 
don,*' he  pursued,  "  your  task  is  nearly  ended.  In  this  more 
bulky  envelope  I  have  given  you  a  letter  which  I  dare  not 
address ;  but  in  the  other  you  will  find  the  designation  of  the 
house  to  which  you  must  carry  it  along  with  your  box,  which 
will  there  be  taken  from  you  and  not  trouble  you  any  more." 

"  Alas ! "  said  Silas,  "  I  have  every  wish  to  believe  you ; 
but  how  is  it  possible.''  You  open  up  to  me  a  bright  pros- 
pect, but,  I  ask  you,  is  my  mind  capable  of  receiving  so  un- 
likely a  solution.''  Be  more  generous,  and  let  me  farther 
understand  your  meaning." 

The  Doctor  seemed  painfully  impressed. 

"  Boy,"  he  answered,  "  you  do  not  know  how  hard  a  thing 
you  ask  of  me.  But  be  it  so.  I  am  now  inured  to  humilia- 
tion ;  and  it  would  be  strange  if  I  refused  you  this,  after 
having  granted  you  so  much.  Know,  then,  that  although 
I  now  make  so  quiet  an  appearance — ^frugal,  solitary,  ad- 
dicted to  study — when  I  was  younger,  my  name  was  once 
a  rallying-cry  among  the  most  astute  and  dangerous  spirits 
of  London;  and  while  I  was  outwardly  an  object  for  respect 
and  consideration,  my  true  power  resided  in  the  most  secret, 
terrible,  and  criminal  relations.  It  is  to  one  of  the  persons 
who  then  obeyed  me  that  I  now  address  myself  to  deliver  you 
from  your  burden.  They  were  men  of  many  different 
nations  and  dexterities,  all  bound  together  by  a  formidable 
oath,  and  working  to  the  same  purposes ;  the  trade  of  the 
association  was  in  murder;  and  I  who  speak  to  you,  innocent 
as  I  appear,  was  the  chieftain  of  this  redoubtable  crew." 

"What?"  cried  Silas.  "A  murderer.?  And  one  with 
whom  murder  was  a  trade.''  Can  I  take  your  hand.''  Ought 
I  to  so  much  as  accept  your  services?  Dark  and  criminal 
old  man,  would  you  make  an  accomplice  of  my  youth  and 
my  distress?  " 

48 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

The  Doctor  bitterly  laughed. 

"You  are  difficult  to  please,  Mr.  Scuddamore,"  said  he; 
"  but  I  now  offer  you  your  choice  of  company  between  the 
murdered  man  and  the  murderer.  If  your  conscience  is  too 
nice  to  accept  my  aid,  say  so,  and  I  will  immediately  leave 
you.  Thenceforward  you  can  deal  with  your  trunk  and  its 
belongings  as  best  suits  your  upright  conscience." 

"  I  own  myself  wrong,"  replied  Silas.  "  I  should  have 
remembered  how  generously  you  offered  to  shield  me,  even 
before  I  had  convinced  you  of  my  innocence,  and  I  continue 
to  listen  to  your  counsels  with  gratitude." 

"  That  is  well,"  returned  the  Doctor ;  "  and  I  perceive 
you  are  beginning  to  learn  some  of  the  lessons  of  ex- 
perience." 

"  At  the  same  time,"  resumed  the  New  Englander,  "  as 
you  confess  yourself  accustomed  to  this  tragical  business, 
and  the  people  to  whom  you  recommend  me  are  your  own 
former  associates  and  friends,  could  you  not  yourself  un- 
dertake the  transport  of  the  box,  and  rid  me  at  once  of  its 
detested  presence.'^  " 

"  Upon  my  word,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "  I  admire  you 
cordially.  If  you  do  not  think  I  have  already  meddled 
sufficiently  in  your  concerns,  believe  me,  from  my  heart  I 
think  the  contrary.  Take  or  leave  my  services  as  I  offer 
them ;  and  trouble  me  with  no  more  words  of  gratitude,  for 
I  value  your  consideration  even  more  lightly  than  I  do  your 
intellect.  A  time  will  come,  if  you  should  be  spared  to  see 
a  number  of  years  in  health  and  mind,  when  you  will  think 
differently  of  all  this,  and  blush  for  your  to-night's  be- 
havior." 

So  saying,  the  Doctor  arose  from  his  chair,  repeated  his 
directions  briefly  and  clearly,  and  departed  from  the  room 
without  permitting  Silas  any  time  to  answer. 

Tiie  next  morning  Silas  presented  himself  at  the  hotel, 
where  he  was  politely  received  by  Colonel  Geraldine,  and 
relieved,  from  that  moment,  of  all  immediate  alarm  about  his 
trunk  and  its  grisly  contents.  The  journey  passed  over 
without  much  incident,  although  the  young  man  was  horrified 

49 


NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS 

to  overhear  the  sailors  and  raihvay  porters  complaining 
among  themselves  about  the  unusual  weight  of  the  Prince's 
baggage.  Silas  traveled  in  a  carriage  with  the  valets,  for 
Prince  Florizel  chose  to  be  alone  with  his  Master  of  the 
Horse.  On  board  the  steamer,  however,  Silas  attracted  his 
Highness's  attention  by  the  melancholy  of  his  air  and  atti- 
tude as  he  stood  gazing  at  the  pile  of  baggage;  for  he  was 
still  full  of  disquietude  about  the  future. 

"  There  is  a  young  man,"  observed  the  Prince,  "  who  must 
have  some  cause  for  sorrow," 

"  That,"  replied  Geraldine,  "  is  the  American  for  whom 
I  obtained  permission  to  travel  with  your  suite." 

"  You  remind  me  that  I  have  been  remiss  in  cour- 
tesy," said  Prince  Florizel,  and  advancing  to  Silas,  he  ad- 
dressed him  with  the  most  exquisite  condenscension  in  these 
words ; 

"  I  was  charmed,  young  sir,  to  be  able  to  gratify  the 
desire  you  made  known  to  me  through  Colonel  Geraldine. 
Remember,  if  you  please,  that  I  shall  be  glad  at  any  future 
time  to  lay  you  under  a  more  serious  obligation." 

And  then  he  put  some  questions  as  to  the  political  con- 
dition of  America,  which  Silas  answered  with  sense  and 
propriety. 

"  You  are  still  a  young  man,"  said  the  Prince ;  "  but  I 
observe  you  to  be  very  serious  for  your  years.  Perhaps  you 
allow  your  attention  to  be  too  much  occupied  with  grave 
studies.  But,  perhaps,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  myself  in- 
discreet and  touch  upon  a  painful  subject." 

"  I  have  certainly  cause  to  be  the  most  miserable  of  men," 
said  Silas ;  "  never  has  a  more  innocent  person  been  more 
dismally  abused." 

"  I  will  not  ask  you  for  your  confidence,"  returned  Prince 
Florizel.  "  But  do  not  forget  that  Colonel  Geraldine's 
recommendation  is  an  unfailing  passport;  and  that  I  am 
not  only  willing,  but  possibly  more  able  than  many  othersj 
to  do  you  a  service." 

Silas  was  delighted  with  the  amiability  of  this  great  per- 
sonage; but  his  mind  soon  returned  upon  its  gloomy  pre- 

50 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

occupations ;  for  not  even  the  favor  of  a  Prince  to  a 
republican  can  discharge  a  brooding  spirit  of  its  cares. 

The  train  arrived  at  Charing  Cross,  where  the  officers 
of  the  Revenue  respected  the  baggage  of  Prince  Florizel  in 
the  usual  manner.  The  most  elegant  equipages  were  in  wait- 
ing ;  and  Silas  was  driven,  along  with  the  rest,  to  the  Prince's 
residence.  There  Colonel  Geraldine  sought  him  out,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  pleased  to  have  been  of  any  service  to  a 
friend  of  the  physician's,  for  whom  he  professed  a  great 
consideration. 

"  I  hope,"  he  added,  "  that  you  will  find  none  of  your 
porcelain  injured.  Special  orders  were  given  along  the  line 
to  deal  tenderly  with  the  Prince's  effects." 

And  then,  directing  the  servants  to  place  one  of  the  car- 
riages at  the  young  gentleman's  disposal,  and  at  once  to 
charge  the  Saratoga  trunk  upon  the  dickey,  the  Colonel 
shook  hands  and  excused  himself  on  account  of  his  occupa- 
tions in  the  princely  household. 

Silas  now  broke  the  seal  of  the  envelope  containing  the 
address,  and  directed  the  stately  footman  to  drive  him  to 
Box  Court,  opening  off  the  Strand.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
place  were  not  at  all  unknown  to  the  man,  for  he  looked 
startled  and  begged  a  repetition  of  the  order.  It  was  with 
a  heart  full  of  alarms,  that  Silas  mounted  into  the  luxurious 
vehicle,  and  was  driven  to  his  destination.  The  entrance  to 
Box  Court  was  too  narrow  for  the  passage  of  a  coach ;  it 
was  a  mere  footway  between  railings,  with  a  post  at  either 
end.  On  one  of  these  posts  was  seated  a  man,  who  at  once 
jumped  down  and  exchanged  a  friendly  sign  with  the  driver, 
while  the  footman  opened  the  door  and  inquired  of  Silas 
whether  he  should  take  down  the  Saratoga  trunk,  and  to 
what  number  it  should  be  carried. 

"  If  you  please,"  said  Silas.     "  To  number  three." 

The  footman  and  the  man  who  had  been  sitting  on  the 
post,  even  with  the  aid  of  Silas  himself,  had  hard  work  to 
carry  in  the  trunk;  and  before  it  was  deposited  at  the  door 
of  the  house  in  question,  the  young  American  was  horrified 
to  find  a  score  of  loiterers  looking  on.     But  he  knocked  with 

51 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

as  good  a  countenance  as  he  could  muster  up,  and  presented 
the  other  envelope  to  him  who  opened. 

"  He  is  not  at  home,"  said  he,  "  but  if  you  will  leave  your 
letter  and  return  to-morrow  early,  I  shall  be  able  to  inform 
you  whether  and  when  he  can  receive  your  visit.  Would  you 
like  to  leave  your  box?  "  he  added. 

"  Dearly,"  cried  Silas ;  and  the  next  moment  he  repented 
his  precipitation,  and  declared,  with  equal  emphasis,  that 
he  would  rather  carry  the  box  along  with  him  to  the  hotel. 

The  crowd  jeered  at  his  indecision  and  followed  him  to 
the  carriage  with  insulting  remarks ;  and  Silas,  covered  with 
shame  and  terror,  implored  the  servants  to  conduct  him  to 
some  quiet  and  comfortable  house  of  entertainment  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood. 

The  Prince's  equipage  deposited  Silas  at  the  Craven  Hotel 
in  Craven  Street,  and  immediately  drove  away,  leaving  him 
alone  with  the  servants  of  the  inn.  The  only  vacant  room, 
it  appeared,  was  a  little  den  up  four  pairs  of  stairs,  and 
looking  towards  the  back.  To  this  hermitage,  with  infinite 
trouble  and  complaint,  a  pair  of  stout  porters  carried  the 
Saratoga  trunk.  It  is  needless  to  mention  that  Silas  kept 
closely  at  their  heels  throughout  the  ascent,  and  had  his 
heart  in  his  mouth  at  every  corner.  A  single  false  step,  he 
reflected,  and  the  box  might  go  over  the  banisters  and  land 
its  fatal  contents,  plainly  discovered,  on  the  pavement  of 
the  hall. 

Arrived  in  the  room,  he  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  his  bed 
to  recover  from  the  agony  that  he  had  just  endured;  but  he 
had  hardly  taken  his  position  when  he  was  recalled  to  a  sense 
of  his  peril  by  the  action  of  the  boots,  who  had  knelt  beside 
the  trunk,  and  was  proceeding  officiously  to  undo  its  elab- 
orate fastenings. 

"  Let  it  be !  "  cried  Silas.  "  I  shall  want  nothing  from 
it  while  I  stay  here." 

"  You  might  have  let  it  lie  in  the  hall  then,"  growled  the 
man ;  "  a  thing  as  big  and  heavy  as  a  church.  What  3'ou 
have  inside,  I  cannot  fancy.  If  it  is  all  money,  you  are  a 
richer  man  than  me." 

52 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

"Money?"  repeated  Silas,  in  a  sudden  perturbation. 
"  What  did  you  mean  by  money?  I  have  no  money,  and 
you  are  speaking  hke  a  fool." 

"  All  right.  Captain,"  retorted  the  boots  with  a  wink. 
"  There's  nobody  will  touch  your  lordship's  money.  I'm  as 
safe  as  the  bank,"  he  added ;  "  but  as  the  box  is  heavy,  I 
shouldn't  mind  drinking  something  to  your  lordship's 
health." 

Silas  pressed  two  Napoleons  upon  his  acceptance,  apolo- 
gizing, at  the  same  time,  for  being  obliged  to  trouble  him 
with  foreign  money,  and  pleading  his  recent  arrival  for 
excuse.  And  the  man,  grumbling  with  even  greater  fervor, 
and  looking  contemptuously  from  the  money  in  his  hand  to 
the  Saratoga  trunk  and  back  again  from  the  one  to  the  other, 
at  last  consented  to  withdraw. 

For  nearly  two  days  the  dead  body  had  been  packed  into 
Silas's  box;  and  as  soon  as  he  was  alone  the  unfortvmate 
New  Englander  nosed  all  the  cracks  and  openings  Avith  the 
most  passionate  attention.  But  the  weather  was  cool,  and 
the  trunk  still  managed  to  contain  his  shocking  secret. 

He  took  a  chair  beside  it,  and  buried  his  face  in  his  hands, 
and  his  mind  in  the  most  profound  reflection.  If  he  were 
not  speedily  relieved,  no  question  but  he  must  be  speedily  dis- 
covered. Alone  in  a  strange  city,  without  friends  or  ac- 
complices, if  the  Doctor's  introduction  failed  him,  he  was 
indubitably  a  lost  New  Englander.  He  reflected  pathetically 
over  his  ambitious  designs  for  the  future;  he  should  not 
now  become  the  hero  and  spokesman  of  his  native  place  of 
Bangor,  Maine ;  he  should  not,  as  he  had  fondly  anticipated, 
move  on  from  office  to  office,  from  honor  to  honor;  he  might 
as  well  divest  himself  at  once  of  all  hope  of  being  acclaimed 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  leaving  behind  him  a 
statue,  in  the  worst  possible  style  of  art,  to  adorn  the  Capitol 
at  Washington.  Here  he  was,  chained  to  a  dead  Englishman 
doubled  up  inside  a  Saratoga  trunk;  whom  he  must  get  rid 
of,  or  perish  from  the  rolls  of  national  glory ! 

I  should  be  afraid  to  chronicle  the  language  employed 
by  this  young  man  to  the  Doctor,  to  the  murdered  man,  to 

53 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Madame  Zephyrlne,  to  the  boots  of  the  hotel,  to  the  Prince's 
servants,  and,  in  a  word,  to  all  who  had  been  ever  so  re- 
motely connected  with  his  horrible  misfortune. 

He  slunk  down  to  dinner  about  seven  at  night ;  but  the 
yellow  coffee-room  appalled  him,  the  eyes  of  the  other  diners 
seemed  to  rest  on  his  with  suspicion,  and  his  mind  remained 
upstairs  with  the  Saratoga  trunk.  When  the  waiter  came 
to  offer  him  cheese,  his  nerves  were  already  so  much  on 
edge  that  he  leaped  half-way  out  of  his  chair  and  upset 
the  remainder  of  a  pint  of  ale  upon  the  table-cloth. 

The  fellow  offered  to  show  him  the  smoking-room  when 
he  had  done ;  and  although  he  would  have  much  preferred  to 
return  at  once  to  his  perilous  treasure,  he  had  not  the 
courage  to  refuse,  and  was  shown  downstairs,  to  the  black, 
gas-lit  cellar,  which  formed,  and  possibly  still  forms,  the 
divan  of  the  Craven  Hotel, 

Two  very  sad  betting  men  were  playing  billiards,  attended 
by  a  moist,  consumptive  marker;  and  for  the  moment  Silas 
imagined  that  these  were  the  only  occupants  of  the  apart- 
ment. But  at  the  next  glance  his  eye  fell  upon  a  person 
smoking  in  the  farthest  corner,  with  lowered  eyes  and  a  most 
respectable  and  modest  aspect.  He  knew  at  once  that  he 
had  seen  the  face  before;  and  in  spite  of  the  entire  change 
of  clothes,  recognized  the  man  whom  he  had  found  seated 
on  a  post  at  the  entrance  to  Box  Court,  and  who  had  helped 
him  to  carry  the  trunk  to  and  from  the  carriage.  The 
New  Englander  simply  turned  and  ran,  nor  did  he  pause 
until  he  had  locked  and  bolted  himself  into  his  bedroom. 

There,  all  night  long,  a  prey  to  the  most  terrible  imagina- 
tions, he  watched  beside  the  fatal  boxful  of  dead  flesh.  The 
suggestion  of  the  boots  that  his  trunk  was  full  of  gold 
inspired  him  with  all  manner  of  new  terrors,  if  he  so  much 
as  dared  to  close  an  eye;  and  the  presence  in  the  smoking- 
room,  and  under  an  obvious  disguise,  of  the  loiterer  from 
Box  Court  convinced  him  that  he  was  once  more  the  centre 
of  obscure  machination. 

Midnight  had  sounded  some  time,  when,  impelled  by  un- 
easy suspicions,  Silas  opened  his  bedroom  door  and  peered 

54 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

into  the  passage.  It  was  dimly  illuminated  by  a  single 
jet  of  gas;  and  some  distance  off  he  perceived  a  man  sleeping 
on  the  floor  in  the  costume  of  an  hotel  under-servant.  Silas 
drew  near  the  man  on  tip-toe.  He  lay  partly  on  his  back, 
partly  on  his  side,  and  his  right  forearm  concealed  his  face 
from  recognition.  Suddenly,  while  the  American  was  still 
bending  over  him,  the  sleeper  removed  his  arm  and  opened 
his  eyes,  and  Silas  found  himself  once  more  face  to  face  with 
the  loiterer  of  Box  Court. 

"  Good  night,  sir,"  said  the  man,  pleasantly. 

But  Silas  was  too  profoundly  moved  to  find  an  answer,  and 
regained  his  room  in  silence. 

Towards  morning,  worn  out  by  apprehension,  he  fell 
asleep  on  his  chair,  with  his  head  forward  on  the  trunk.  In 
spite  of  so  constrained  an  attitude  and  such  a  grisly  pillow, 
his  slumber  was  sound  and  prolonged,  and  he  was  only 
awakened  at  a  late  hour  and  by  a  sharp  tapping  at  the 
door. 

He  hurried  to  open,  and  found  the  boots  without. 

"  You  are  the  gentleman  who  called  yesterday  at  Box 
Court?  "  he  asked. 

Silas,  with  a  quaver,  admitted  that  he  had  done  so. 

"  Then  this  note  is  for  you,"  added  the  servant,  proffering 
a  sealed  envelope. 

Silas  tore  it  open,  and  found  inside  the  words :  "  Twelve 
o'clock." 

He  was  punctual  to  the  hour;  the  trunk  was  carried  be- 
fore him  by  several  stout  servants;  and  he  was  himself 
ushered  into  a  room,  where  a  man  sat  warming  himself  be- 
fore the  fire  with  his  back  towards  the  door.  The  sound  of 
so  many  persons  entering  and  leaving,  and  the  scraping  of 
the  trunk  as  it  was  deposited  upon  the  bare  boards,  were 
alike  unable  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  occupant ;  and  Silas 
stood  waiting,  in  an  agony  of  fear,  until  he  should  deign  to 
recognize  his  presence. 

Perhaps  five  minutes  had  elapsed  before  the  man  turned 
leisurely  about,  and  disclosed  the  features  of  Prince  Florizel 
of  Bohemia. 

55 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS   * 

**  So,  sir,"  he  said  with  great  severity,  "  this  is  the  man- 
ner in  which  you  abuse  my  politeness.  You  join  yourself 
to  persons  of  condition,  I  perceive,  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  escape  the  consequences  of  your  crimes ;  and  I  can 
readily  understand  your  embarrassment  when  I  addressed 
myself  to  you  yesterday." 

"  Indeed,"  cried  Silas,  "  I  am  innocent  of  everything  ex- 
cept misfortune." 

And  in  a  hurried  voice,  and  with  the  greatest  ingenuous- 
ness, he  recounted  to  the  Prince  the  whole  history  of  his 
calamity. 

"  I  see  I  have  been  mistaken,"  said  his  Highness,  when 
he  had  heard  him  to  an  end.  "  You  are  no  other  than  a  vic- 
tim, and  since  I  am  not  to  punish  you,  you  may  be  sure  I 
shall  do  my  utmost  to  help.  And  now,"  he  continued,  "  to 
business.  Open  your  box  at  once,  and  let  me  see  what  it 
contains." 

Silas  changed  color. 

"  I  almost  fear  to  look  upon  it,"  he  exclaimed. 

"  Nay,"  replied  the  Prince,  "  have  you  not  looked  at  it 
already?  This  is  a  form  of  sentimentality  to  be  resisted. 
The  sight  of  a  sick  man,  whom  we  can  still  help,  should  ap- 
peal more  directly  to  the  feelings  than  that  of  a  dead  man 
who  is  equally  beyond  help  or  harm,  love  or  hatred.  Nerve 
yourself,  Mr.  Scuddamore,"  and  then,  seeing  that  Silas  still 
hesitated,  "  I  do  not  desire  to  give  another  name  to  my 
request,"  he  added. 

The  young  American  awoke  as  If  out  of  a  dream,  and  with 
a  shiver  of  repugnance  addressed  himself  to  loose  the  straps 
and  open  the  lock  of  the  Saratoga  trunk.  The  Prince  stood 
by,  watching  with  a  composed  countenance  and  his  hands 
behind  his  back.  The  body  was  quite  stiff,  and  it  cost  Silas 
a  great  effort,  both  moral  and  physical,  to  dislodge  it  from 
its  position,  and  discover  the  face. 

Prince  Florizel  started  back  with  an  exclamation  of  pain- 
ful surprise. 

"  Alas ! "  he  cried,  *'  you  little  know,  Mr.  Scuddamore, 
what  a  cruel  gift  you  have  brought  me.     This  is  a  young 

5Q 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

man  of  my  own  suite,  the  brother  of  my  trusted  friend ;  and 
it  was  upon  matters  of  my  own  service  that  he  has  thus 
perished  at  the  hands  of  violent  and  treacherous  men.  Poor 
Geraldine,"  he  went  on,  as  if  to  himself,  "  in  what  words  am 
I  to  tell  3^ou  of  your  brother's  fate?  How  can  I  excuse 
myself  in  your  eyes,  or  in  the  e3^es  of  God,  for  the  presump- 
tuous schemes  that  led  him  to  this  bloody  and  unnatural 
death?  Ah,  Florizel!  Florizel!  when  will  you  learn  the  dis- 
cretion that  suits  mortal  life,  and  be  no  longer  dazzled  with 
the  image  of  power  at  your  disposal?  Power!"  he  cried; 
"  who  is  more  powerless  ?  I  look  upon  this  young  man  whom 
I  have  sacrificed,  INlr.  Scuddamore,  and  feel  how  small  a 
thing  it  is  to  be  a  Prince." 

Silas  was  moved  at  the  sight  of  his  emotion.  He  tried  to 
murmur  some  consolatory  words,  and  burst  into  tears.  The 
Prince,  touched  by  his  obvious  intention,  came  up  to  him 
and  took  him  by  the  hand. 

"  Command  yourself,"  said  he.  "  We  have  both  much  to 
learn  and  we  shall  both  be  better  men  for  to-day's  meeting." 

Silas  thanked  liim  in  silence  with  an  affectionate  look. 

"  Write  me  the  address  of  Doctor  Noel  on  this  piece  of 
paper,"  continued  the  Prince,  leading  him  towards  the  table ; 
*'  and  let  me  recommend  you,  when  you  are  again  in  Paris, 
to  avoid  the  society  of  that  dangerous  man.  He  has  acted  in 
this  matter  on  a  generous  inspiration ;  that  I  must  believe ; 
had  he  been  privy  to  young  Geraldine's  death  he  would 
never  have  despatched  the  body  to  the  care  of  the  actual 
criminal." 

"  The  actual  criminal !  "  repeated  Silas  in  astonishment. 

"  Even  so,"  returned  the  Prince.  "  This  letter,  which 
the  disposition  of  Almighty  Providence  has  so  strangely  de- 
livered into  my  hands,  was  addressed  to  no  less  a  person 
than  the  criminal  himself,  the  infamous  President  of  the 
Suicide  Club.  Seek  to  pry  no  further  in  these  perilous 
affairs,  but  content  yourself  with  your  own  miraculous  ecape, 
and  leave  this  house  at  once.  I  have  pressing  affairs,  and 
must  arrange  at  once  about  this  poor  clay,  which  was  so 
lately  a  gallant  and  handsome  youth." 
57 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Silas  took  a  grateful  and  submissive  leave  of  Prince 
Vlorizel,  but  he  lingered  in  Box  Court  until  he  saw  him 
depart  in  a  splendid  carriage  on  a  visit  to  Colonel  Hen- 
derson of  the  police.  Republican  as  he  was,  the  young 
American  took  off  his  hat  with  almost  a  sentiment  of  de- 
votion to  the  retreating  carriage.  And  the  same  night  he 
started  by  rail  on  his  return  to  Paris. 

Here  (observes  my  Arabian  Author)  Is  the  end  of  The 

HiSTOEY    OF     THE     PHYSICIAN    AND     THE     SARATOGA    TrUNK. 

Omitting  some  reflections  on  the  power  of  Providence,  highly 
pertinent  in  the  original,  hut  little  suited  to  our  occidental 
taste,  I  shall  only  add  that  Mr.  Scuddamore  has  already  he- 
gun  to  mount  the  ladder  of  political  fame,  and  hy  last 
advices  was  the  Sheriff  of  his  native  towTio 


58 


THE   ADVENTURE    OF    THE    HANSOM    CAB 

LIEUTENANT  BRACKENBURY  RICH  had  greatly  dis- 
Jtinguished  himself  in  one  of  the  lesser  Indian  hill  wars. 
He  it  was  who  took  the  chieftain  prisoner  with  his  own  hand ; 
his  gallantry  was  universally  applauded;  and  when  he  came 
home,  prostrated  by  an  ugly  sabre  cut  and  a  protracted 
jungle  fever,  society  was  prepared  to  welcome  the  Lieutenant 
as  a  celebrity  of  minor  luster.  But  his  was  a  character  re- 
markable for  unaffected  modesty;  adventure  was  dear  to 
his  heart,  but  he  cared  little  for  adulation ;  and  he  waited  at 
foreign  watering-places  and  in  Algiers  until  the  fame  of  his 
exploits  had  run  through  its  nine  days'  vitality  and  begun 
to  be  forgotten.  He  arrived  in  London  at  last,  in  the  early 
season,  with  as  little  observation  as  he  could  desire ;  and  as 
he  was  an  orphan  and  had  none  but  distant  relatives  who 
lived  in  the  provinces,  it  was  almost  as  a  foreigner  that  he 
installed  himself  in  the  capital  of  the  country  for  which 
he  had  shed  his  blood. 

On  the  day  following  his  arrival  he  dined  alone  at  a  mili- 
tary club.  He  shook  hands  with  a  few  old  comrades,  and 
received  their  congratulations ;  but  as  one  and  all  had  some 
engagement  for  the  evening,  he  found  himself  left  entirely 
to  his  own  resources.  He  was  in  dress,  for  he  had  enter- 
tained the  notion  of  visiting  a  theater.  But  the  great  city 
was  new  to  him;  he  had  gone  from  a  provincial  school  to  a 
military  college,  and  thence  direct  to  the  Eastern  Empire; 
and  he  promised  himself  a  variety  of  delights  in  this  world 
for  exploration.  Swinging  his  cane,  he  took  his  way  west- 
ward. It  was  a  mild  evening,  already  dark,  and  now  and 
then  threatening  rain.  The  succession  of  faces  in  the  lamp- 
light stirred  the  Lieutenant's  imagination ;  and  it  seemed  to 
him  as  if  he  could  walk  for  ever  in  that  stimulating  city 

59 


IS^EW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

atmosphere  and  surrounded  by  the  m^^stery  of  four  million 
private  lives.  He  glanced  at  the  houses,  and  marvelled  what 
was  passing  behind  those  warmW-lighted  windows ;  he  looked 
into  face  after  face,  and  saw  them  each  intent  upon  some 
unknown  interest,  criminal  or  kindly. 

"  They  talk  of  war,"  he  thought,  "  but  this  is  the  great 
battlefield  of  mankind." 

And  then  he  began  to  wonder  that  he  should  walk  so  long 
in  this  comphcated  scene,  and  not  chance  upon  so  much  as 
the  shadow  of  an  adventure  for  himself. 

"  All  in  good  time,"  he  reflected.  "  I  am  still  a  stranger, 
and  perhaps  wear  a  strange  air.  But  I  must  be  drawn  into 
the  eddy  before  long." 

The  night  was  already  well  advanced,  when  a  plump  of 
cold  rain  fell  suddenly  out  of  the  darkness.  Brackenbury 
paused  under  some  trees,  and  as  he  did  so  he  caught  sight 
of  a  hansom  cabman  making  him  a  sign  that  he  was  dis- 
engaged. The  circumstance  fell  in  so  happily  to  the  occa- 
sion that  he  at  once  raised  his  cane  in  answer,  and  had  soon 
ensconced  himself  in  the  London  gondola. 

"  Where  to,  sir  ?  "  asked  the  driver. 

**  Where  you  please,"  said  Brackenbury. 

And  immediately,  at  a  pace  of  surprising  swiftness,  the 
hansom  drove  off  through  the  rain  into  a  maze  of  villas. 
One  villa  was  so  like  another,  each  with  its  front  garden, 
and  there  was  so  little  to  distinguish  the  deserted  lamp-lit 
streets  and  crescents  through  which  the  flying  hansom  took 
its  way,  that  Brackenbury  soon  lost  all  idea  of  direction. 
He  would  have  been  contented  to  believe  that  the  cabman 
was  amusing  himself  by  driving  him  round  and  round  and  in 
and  out  about  a  small  quarter,  but  there  was  something 
businesslike  in  the  speed  vrhich  convinced  him  of  the  contrary. 
The  man  had  an  object  in  view,  he  was  hastening  towards  a 
definite  end  and  Brackenbury  was  at  once  astonished  at  the 
fellow's  skill  in  picking  a  way  through  such  labyrinth,  and 
a  little  concerned  to  imagine  what  was  the  occasion  of  his 
hurry.  He  had  heard  tales  of  strangers  falling  ill  in  Lon- 
don.    Did  the  driver  belong  to  some  bloody  and  treacherous 

60 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

association?  and  was  he  himself  being  -whirled  to  a  mur- 
derous death? 

The  thought  had  scarcely  presented  itself,  when  the  cab 
swung  sharply  round  a  corner  and  pulled  up  before  the  gar- 
den gate  of  a  villa  in  a  long  and  wide  road.  The  house  was 
brilliantly  lighted  up.  Another  hansom  had  just  driven 
away,  and  Brackenbury  could  see  a  gentleman  being  admitted 
at  the  front  door  and  received  by  several  liveried  servants. 
He  was  surprised  that  the  cabman  should  have  stopped  so 
immediately  in  front  of  a  house  where  a  reception  was  being 
held ;  but  he  did  not  doubt  it  was  the  result  of  accident,  and 
sat  placidly  smoking  where  he  was,  until  he  heard  the  trap 
thrown  open  over  his  head. 

"  Here  we  are,  sir,"  said  the  driver. 

"  Here !  "  repeated  Brackenbury.     "  Where?  " 

"  You  told  me  to  take  you  where  I  pleased,  sir,"  returned 
the  man  with  a  chuckle,  "  and  here  we  are." 

It  struck  Brackenbury  that  the  voice  was  wonderfully 
smooth  and  courteous  for  a  man  in  so  inferior  a  position ;  he 
remembered  the  speed  at  which  he  had  been  driven;  and 
now  it  occurred  to  him  that  the  hansom  was  more  luxuriously 
appointed  than  the  common  run  of  public  convej^ances. 

"  I  must  ask  you  to  explain,"  said  he.  "  Do  you  mean  to 
turn  me  out  into  the  rain?  My  good  man,  I  suspect  the 
choice  is  mine." 

"  The  choice  is  certainly  yours,"  replied  the  driver,  "  but 
when  I  tell  you  all,  I  believe  I  know  how  a  gentleman  of  your 
figure  will  decide.  There  is  a  gentlemen's  party  in  this 
house.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  master  be  a  stranger  to 
London  and  without  acquaintances  of  his  own;  or  whether 
he  is  a  man  of  odd  notions.  But  certainly  I  was  hired  to 
kidnap  single  gentlemen  in  evening  dress,  as  many  as  I 
pleased,  but  military  officers  by  preference.  You  have 
simply  to  go  in  and  say  that  Mr.  Morris  invited  you." 

"  Are  you  Mr.  Morris  ?  "  inquired  the  Lieutenant. 

"  Oh,  no,"  rephed  the  cabman.  "  Mr.  Morris  is  the  person 
of  the  house." 

"  It   is   not   a   common  way   of   collecting  guests,"   said 

61 


NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS 

Brackenbury ;  "  but  an  eccentric  man  might  very  well  in- 
dulge the  whim  without  any  intention  to  offend.  And  sup- 
pose that  I  refuse  Mr.  Morris's  invitation,"  he  went  on, 
"what  then?" 

"  My  orders  are  to  drive  you  back  where  I  took  you  from," 
replied  the  man,  "  and  set  out  to  look  for  others  up  to 
midnight.  Those  who  have  no  fancy  for  such  an  adventure, 
Mr.  Morris  said,  were  not  the  guests  for  him." 

These  words  decided  the  Lieutenant  on  the  spot. 

"  After  all,"  he  reflected,  as  he  descended  from  the  han- 
som, "  I  have  not  had  long  to  wait  for  my  adventure." 

He  had  hardly  found  footing  on  the  side-walk,  and  was 
still  feeling  in  his  pocket  for  the  fare,  when  the  cab  swung 
about  and  drove  off  by  the  way  it  came  at  the  former 
break-neck  velocity.  Brackenbury  shouted  after  the  man, 
who  paid  no  heed,  and  continued  to  drive  away;  but  the 
sound  of  his  voice  was  overheard  in  the  house,  the  door 
was  again  thrown  open,  emitting  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
garden,  and  a  servant  ran  down  to  meet  him  holding  an 
umbrella. 

"  The  cabman  has  been  paid,"  observed  the  servant  in  a 
very  civil  tone;  and  he  proceeded  to  escort  Brackenbury 
along  the  path  and  up  the  steps.  In  the  hall  several  other 
attendants  relieved  him  of  his  hat,  cane,  and  paletot,  gave 
him  a  ticket  with  a  number  in  return,  and  politely  hurried 
him  up  a  stair  adorned  with  tropical  flowers,  to  the  door  of 
an  apartment  on  the  first  story.  Here  a  grave  butler  in- 
quired his  name,  and  announcing  "  Lieutenant  Brackenbury 
Rich,"  ushered  him  into  the  drawing-room  of  the  house. 

A  young  man,  slender  and  singularly  handsome,  came  for- 
ward and  greeted  him  with  an  air  at  once  courtly  and  affec- 
tionate. Hundreds  of  candles,  of  the  finest  wax,  lit  up  a 
room  perfumed,  like  the  staircase,  with  a  profusion  of  rare 
and  beautiful  flowering  shrubs.  A  side-table  was  loaded 
with  tempting  viands.  Several  servants  went  to  and  fro  with 
fruits  and  goblets  of  champagne.  The  company  was  perhaps 
sixteen  in  number,  all  men,  few  beyond  the  prime  of  life,  and 
with  hardly  an  exception,  of  a  dashing  and  capable  exterior. 

62 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

They  were  divided  into  two  groups,  one  about  a  roulette 
board,  and  the  other  surrounding  a  table  at  which  one  of 
their  number  held  a  bank  of  baccarat. 

"  I  see,"  thought  Brackenbury,  "  I  am  in  a  private  gam- 
bling saloon,  and  the  cabman  was  a  tout." 

His  eye  had  embraced  the  details,  and  his  mind  formed 
the  conclusion,  while  his  host  was  still  holding  him  by  the 
hand;  and  to  him  his  looks  returned  from  this  rapid  survey. 
At  a  second  view  Mr.  Morris  surprised  him  still  more  than 
on  the  first.  The  easy  elegance  of  his  manners,  the  distinc- 
tion, amiability,  and  courage  that  appeared  upon  his  fea- 
tures, fitted  very  ill  with  the  Lieutenant's  preconceptions  on 
the  subject  of  the  proprietor  of  a  hell;  and  the  tone  of  his 
conversation  seemed  to  mark  him  out  for  a  man  of  position 
and  merit.  Brackenbury  found  he  had  an  instinctive  liking 
for  his  entertainer  and  though  he  chid  himself  for  the  weak- 
ness he  was  unable  to  resist  a  sort  of  friendly  attraction  for 
Mr.  Morris's  person  and  character. 

"  I  have  heard  of  you.  Lieutenant  Rich,"  said  Mr.  Mor- 
ris, lowering  his  tone ;  "  and  believe  me  I  am  gratified  to 
make  your  acquaintance.  Your  looks  accord  with  the  repu- 
tation that  has  preceded  you  from  India.  And  if  you  will 
forget  for  a  while  the  irregularity  of  your  presentation  in 
my  house,  I  shall  feel  it  not  only  an  honor,  but  genuine 
pleasure  besides.  A  man  who  makes  a  mouthful  of  barbarian 
cavaliers,"  he  added  with  a  laugh,  "  should  not  be  appalled 
by  a  breach  of  etiquette,  however  serious." 

And  he  led  him  towards  the  sideboard  and  pressed  him 
to  partake  of  some  refreshments. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  the  Lieutenant  reflected,  "  this  is  one 
of  the  pleasantest  fellows  and,  I  do  not  doubt,  one  of  the 
most  agreeable  societies  in  London." 

He  partook  of  some  champagne,  which  he  found  excellent ; 
and  observing  that  many  of  the  company  were  already  smok- 
ing, he  lit  one  of  his  own  INIanilas,  and  strolled  up  to  the 
roulette  board,  where  he  sometimes  made  a  stake  ar»d  some- 
times looked  on  smilingly  on  the  fortune  of  others.  It  was 
wliile  he  was  thus  idling  that  he  became  aware  of  a  sharp 

63 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

scrutiny  to  which  the  whole  of  the  guests  were  subjected. 
]Mr.  INIorris  went  here  and  there,  ostensibly  busied  on  hos- 
pitable concerns ;  but  he  had  ever  a  shrewd  glance  at  disposal ; 
not  a  man  of  the  party  escaped  his  sudden,  searching  looks ; 
he  took  stock  of  the  bearing  of  heavy  losers,  he  valued  the 
amount  of  the  stakes,  he  paused  behind  couples  who  were 
deep  in  conversation ;  and,  in  a  word,  there  was  hardly  a 
characteristic  of  anyone  present  but  he  seemed  to  catch  and 
make  a  note  of  it.  Brackenbury  began  to  wonder  if  this 
were  indeed  a  gambling  hell:  it  had  so  much  the  air  of  a 
private  inquisition.  He  followed  Mr.  Morris  in  all  his  move- 
ments ;  and  although  the  man  had  a  ready  smile,  he  seemed 
to  perceive,  as  it  were  under  a  mask,  a  haggard,  careworn, 
and  preoccupied  spirit.  The  fellows  around  him  laughed 
and  made  their  game;  but  Brackenbury  had  lost  interest  in 
the  guests. 

"  This  Morris,"  thought  he,  "  is  no  idler  in  the  room. 
Some  deep  purpose  inspires  hira;  let  it  be  mine  to 
fathom  it." 

Now  and  then  Mr.  Morris  would  call  one  of  his  visitors 
aside;  and  after  a  brief  colloquy  in  an  ante-room,  he  would 
return  alone,  and  the  visitors  in  question  reappeared  no 
more.  After  a  certain  number  of  repetitions,  this  perform- 
ance excited  Brackenbury's  curiosity  to  a  high  degree.  He 
determined  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  this  minor  mystery  at 
once;  and  strolling  into  the  ante-room,  found  a  deep  window 
recess  concealed  by  curtains  of  the  fashionable  green.  Here 
he  hurriedly  ensconced  himself;  nor  had  he  to  wait  long  be- 
fore the  sound  of  steps  and  voices  drew  near  him  from  the 
principal  apartment.  Peering  through  the  division,  he  saw 
Mr.  Morris  escorting  a  fat  and  ruddy  personage,  with  some- 
what the  look  of  a  commercial  traveler,  whom  Brackenbury 
had  already  remarked  for  his  coarse  laugh  and  under-bred 
behavior  at  the  table.  The  pair  halted  immediately  before 
the  window,  so  that  Brackenbury  lost  not  a  word  of  the  fol- 
lowing discourse: — 

"  I  beg  you  a  thousand  pardons ! "  began  Mr.  Morris, 
with  the  most  conciliatory  manner ;  "  and,  if  I  appear  rude, 

64, 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

I  am  sure  you  will  readily  forgive  me.  In  a  place  so  great 
as  London  accidents  must  continually  happen ;  and  the  best 
that  we  can  hope  is  to  remed}^  them  with  as  small  delay  as 
possible.  I  will  not  deny  that  I  fear  you  have  made  a  mis- 
take and  honored  my  poor  house  by  inadvertence ;  for,  to 
speak  openly,  I  cannot  at  all  remember  your  appearance. 
Let  me  put  the  question  without  unnecessary  circumlocution 
• — between  gentlemen  of  honor  a  word  will  suffice — Under 
whose  roof  do  you  suppose  yourself  to  be.'*  '* 

"  That  of  Mr.  Morris,"  replied  the  other,  with  a  pro- 
digious display  of  confusion,  which  had  been  visibly  growing 
upon  him  throughout  the  last  few  words. 

"Mr.  John  or  Mr.  James  Morris?"  inquired  the  host. 

"  I  really  cannot  tell  you,"  returned  the  unfortunate  guest. 
**  I  am  not  personally  acquainted  with  the  gentleman,  any 
more  than  I  am  with  yourself." 

"  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Morris.  "  There  is  another  person  of 
the  same  name  farther  down  the  street ;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
the  policeman  will  be  able  to  supply  you  with  his  number. 
Believe  me,  I  felicitate  myself  on  the  misunderstanding  which 
has  procured  me  the  pleasure  of  your  company  for  so  long; 
and  let  me  express  a  hope  that  we  may  meet  again  upon  a 
more  regular  footing.  Meantime,  I  would  not  for  the  world 
detain  you  longer  from  your  friends.  John,"  he  added, 
raising  his  voice,  "  will  you  see  that  the  gentleman  finds  his 
great-coat  ?  " 

And  with  the  most  agreeable  air  Mr.  Morris  escorted  his 
visitor  as  far  as  the  ante-room  door,  where  he  left  him  under 
conduct  of  the  butler.  As  he  passed  the  window,  on  his 
return  to  the  drawing-room,  Brackenbury  could  hear  him 
utter  a  profound  sigh,  as  though  his  mind  was  loaded  with 
great  anxiety,  and  his  nerves  already  fatigued  with  the 
task  on  which  he  was  engaged. 

For  perhaps  an  hour  the  hansoms  kept  arriving  with  such 
frequency,  that  ]Mr.  JMorrls  had  to  receive  a  new  guest  for 
every  old  one  that  he  sent  away,  and  the  company  preserved 
its  nmnber  undiminished.  But  towards  the  end  of  that  time 
the  arrivals  grew  few  and  far  between,  and  at  length  ceased 

65 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

entirely,  while  the  process  of  elimination  was  continued  with 
unimpaired  activity.  The  drawing-room  began  to  look 
empty:  the  baccarat  was  discontinued  for  lack  of  a  banker; 
more  than  one  person  said  good-night  of  his  own  accord, 
and  was  suffered  to  depart  without  expostulation :  and  in 
the  meanwhile  Mr.  Morris  redoubled  in  agreeable  attentions 
to  those  who  stayed  behind.  He  went  from  group  to  group 
and  from  person  to  person  with  looks  of  the  readiest  sym- 
pathy and  the  most  pertinent  and  pleasing  talk;  he  was  not 
so  much  like  a  host  as  like  a  hostess,  and  there  was  a 
feminine  coquetry  and  condescension  in  his  manner  which 
charmed  the  hearts  of  all. 

As  the  guests  grew  thinner,  Lieutenant  Rich  strolled  for 
a  moment  out  of  the  drawing-room  into  the  hall  in  quest 
of  fresher  air.  But  he  had  no  sooner  passed  the  threshold 
of  the  ante-chamber  than  he  was  brought  to  a  dead  halt  by 
a  discovery  of  the  most  surprising  nature.  The  flowering 
shrubs  had  disappeared  from  the  staircase;  three  large  fur- 
niture wagons  stood  before  the  garden  gate ;  the  servants 
were  busy  dismantling  the  house  upon  all  sides ;  and  some 
of  them  had  already  donned  their  great-coats  and  were  pre- 
paring to  depart.  It  was  like  the  end  of  a  country  ball, 
where  everj^thing  has  been  supplied  by  contract.  Bracken- 
bury  had  indeed  some  matter  for  reflection.  First,  the 
guests,  who  were  no  real  guests  after  all,  had  been  dismissed : 
and  now  the  servants,  who  could  hardly  be  genuine  servants, 
were  actively  dispersing. 

"  Was  the  whole  establishment  a  sham .''  "  be  asked  him- 
self. "  The  mushroom  of  a  single  night  which  should  dis- 
appear before  morning.''  " 

Watching  a  favorable  opportunity,  Brackenbury  dashed 
upstairs  to  the  higher  regions  of  the  house.  It  was  as  he 
had  expected.  He  ran  from  room  to  room,  and  saw  not  a 
stick  of  furniture  nor  so  much  as  a  picture  on  the  walls. 
Although  the  house  had  been  painted  and  papered,  it  was 
not  only  uninhabited  at  present,  but  plainly  had  never  been 
inhabited  at  all.  The  young  officer  remembered  with  aston- 
ishment its  specious,  settled,  and  hospitable  air  on  his  ar' 

66 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

rival.     It  was  only  at  a  prodigious  cost  that  the  imposture 
could  have  been  carried  out  upon  so  great  a  scale. 

Whoj  then,  was  Mr.  Morris?  What  was  his  intention  in 
thus  playing  the  householder  for  a  single  night  in  the  remote 
west  of  London.''  And  why  did  he  collect  his  visitors  at 
hazard  from  the  streets.? 

Brackenbury  remembered  that  he  had  already  delayed 
too  long,  and  hastened  to  join  the  company.  Many  had 
left  during  his  absence;  and  counting  the  Lieutenant  and  his 
host,  there  were  not  more  than  five  persons  in  the  drawing- 
room — recently  so  thronged.  Mr.  Morris  greeted  him,  as 
he  re-entered  the  apartment,  with  a  smile,  and  immediately 
rose  to  his  feet. 

"  It  is  now  time,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  to  explain  my 
purpose  in  decoying  you  from  your  amusements.  I  trust 
you  did  not  find  the  evening  hang  very  dully  on  your  hands ; 
but  my  object,  I  will  confess  it,  was  not  to  entertain  your 
leisure,  but  to  help  myself  in  an  unfortunate  necessity.  You 
are  all  gentlemen,"  he  continued,  "  your  appearance  does  you 
that  much  justice,  and  I  ask  for  no  better  security.  Hence, 
I  speak  it  without  concealment,  I  ask  you  to  render  me  a 
dangerous  and  delicate  service ;  dangerous  because  you  may 
run  the  hazard  of  your  lives,  and  delicate  because  I  must 
ask  an  absolute  discretion  upon  all  that  you  shall  see  or 
hear.  From  an  utter  stranger  the  request  is  almost  comically 
extravagant ;  I  am  well  aware  of  this ;  and  I  would  add  at 
once,  if  there  be  anyone  present  who  has  heard  enough,  if 
there  be  one  among  the  party  who  recoils  from  a  dangerous 
confidence  and  a  piece  of  Quixotic  devotion  to  he  knows  not 
whom — here  is  my  hand  ready,  and  I  shall  wish  him  good- 
night and  Godspeed,  with  all  the  sincerity  in  the  world." 

A  very  tall,  black  man,  with  a  heavy  stoop,  immediate  re- 
sponded to  this  appeal. 

"  I  commend  your  frankness,  sir,"  said  he ;  "  and,  for  my 
part,  I  go.  I  make  no  reflections ;  but  I  cannot  deny  that 
you  fill  me  with  suspicious  thoughts.  I  go  myself,  as  I  say ; 
and  perhaps  you  will  think  I  have  no  right  to  add  words 
to  my  example." 

67 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  On  the  contrary,"  replied  Mr.  Morris,  "  I  am  obliged 
to  you  for  all  you  say.  It  would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate 
the  gravity  of  my  proposal." 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  what  do  you  say  ?  "  said  the  tall  man, 
addressing  the  others.  "  We  have  had  our  evening's  frolic ; 
shall  we  go  homeward  peaceably  in  a  body?  You  will  think 
well  of  my  suggestion  in  the  morning,  when  you  see  the  sun 
again  in  innocence  and  safety." 

The  speaker  pronounced  the  last  words  with  an  intonation 
which  added  to  their  force ;  and  his  face  wore  a  singular  ex- 
pression, full  of  gravity  and  significance.  Another  of  the 
company  rose  hastily,  and,  with  some  appearance  of  alarm, 
prepared  to  take  his  leave.  There  were  only  two  who  held 
their  ground,  Brackenbury  and  on  old  red-nosed  cavalry 
Major;  but  these  two  preserved  a  nonchalant  demeanor,  and, 
beyond  a  look  of  intelligence  which  they  rapidly  exchanged, 
appeared  entirely  foreign  to  the  discussion  that  had  just 
been  terminated. 

Mr.  Morris  conducted  the  deserters  as  far  as  the  door, 
which  he  closed  upon  their  heels ;  then  he  turned  round  dis- 
closing a  countenance  of  mingled  relief  and  animation,  and 
addressed  the  two  officers  as  follows : 

"  I  have  chosen  my  men  like  Joshua  in  the  Bible,"  said 
Mr.  Morris,  "  and  I  now  believe  I  have  the  pick  of  London. 
Your  appearance  pleased  my  hansom  cabmen ;  then  it  de- 
lighted me ;  I  watched  your  behavior  in  a  strange  company, 
and  under  the  most  unusual  circumstances :  I  have  studied 
how  you  played  and  how  you  bore  your  losses ;  lastly,  I  have 
put  you  to  the  test  of  a  staggering  announcement,  and  you 
received  it  like  an  invitation  to  dinner.  It  is  not  for  noth- 
ing," he  cried,  "  that  I  have  been  for  years  the  companion 
and  the  pupil  of  the  bravest  and  wisest  potentate  in  Europe." 

"  At  the  affair  of  Bunderchang,"  observed  the  Major,  "  I 
asked  for  twelve  volunteers,  and  every  trooper  in  the  ranks 
replied  to  my  appeal.  But  a  gaming  party  is  not  the  same 
thing  as  a  regiment  under  fire.  You  may  be  pleased,  I  sup- 
pose, to  have  found  two,  and  two  who  will  not  fail  you  at  a 
push.     As  for  the  pair  v/ho  ran  away,  I  count  them  among 

68 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

the  most  pitiful  hounds  I  ever  met  with.  Lieutenant  Ricli," 
he  added,  addressing  Brackenbury,  "  I  have  heard  much  of 
you  of  late ;  and  I  cannot  doubt  but  you  have  also  heard  of 
me.     I  am  Major  O'Rooke." 

And  the  veteran  tendered  his  hand,  which  was  red  and 
tremulous,  to  the  young  Lieutenant. 

"  Who  has  not  ?  "  answered  Brackenbury. 

"  When  this  little  matter  is  settled,"  said  Mr.  Morris, 
"  3'ou  will  think  I  have  sufficiently  rewarded  you ;  for  I  could 
offer  neither  a  more  valuable  service  than  to  make  him  ac- 
quainted with  the  other." 

"  And  now,"  said  Major  O'Rooke,  "  is  it  a  duel.?  " 

"  A  duel  after  a  fashion,"  replied  Mr.  Morris,  "  a  duel 
with  unknown  and  dangerous  enemies,  and,  as  I  gravely  fear, 
a  duel  to  the  death.  I  must  ask  you,"  he  continued,  "  to 
call  me  Morris  no  longer ;  call  me,  if  you  please.  Hammer- 
smith; my  real  name,  as  well  as  that  of  another  person  to 
whom  I  hope  to  present  you  before  long,  you  will  gratify 
me  by  not  asking  and  not  seeking  to  discover  for  yourselves. 
Three  days  ago  the  person  of  whom  I  speak  disappeared 
suddenly  from  home ;  and,  until  this  morning,  I  received  no 
hint  of  his  situation.  You  will  fancy  my  alarm  when  I  tell 
you  that  he  is  engaged  upon  a  work  of  private  justice. 
Bound  by  an  unhappy  oath,  too  lightly  sworn,  he  finds  it 
necessary,  without  the  help  of  law,  to  rid  the  earth  of  an  In- 
sidious and  bloody  villain.  Already  two  of  our  friends,  and 
one  of  them  my  own  born  brother,  have  perished  in  the 
enterprise.  He  himself,  or  I  am  much  deceived,  is  taken  in 
the  same  fatal  toils.  But  at  least  he  still  lives  and  still 
hopes,  as  this  billet  sufficiently  proves." 

And  the  speaker,  no  other  than  Colonel  Geraldine,  prof- 
fered a  letter,  thus  conceived: — 

"  Major  Hammersmith, — On  Wednesday,  at  3  a.  m.,  you 
will  be  admitted  by  the  small  door  to  the  gardens  of  Roches- 
ter House,  Regent's  Park,  by  a  man  who  is  entirely  in  my 
interest.  I  must  request  you  not  to  fail  me  by  a  second. 
Pray  bring  my  case  of  swords,  and,  if  you  can  find  them,  one 

69 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

or  two  gentlemen  of  conduct  and  discretion  to  whom  my 
person  is  unknown.  My  name  must  not  be  used  in  this 
affair. 

«T.   GODALL." 

"  From  his  wisdom  alone,  if  he  had  no  other  title,"  pur- 
sued Golonel  Geraldine,  when  the  others  had  each  satisfied 
his  curiosity,  "  my  friend  is  a  man  whose  directions  should 
implicitly  be  followed.  I  need  not  tell  you,  therefore,  that 
I  have  not  so  much  as  visited  the  neighborhood  of  Rochester 
House ;  and  that  I  am  still  as  wholly  in  the  dark  as  either 
of  yourselves  as  to  the  nature  of  my  friend's  dilemma.  I 
betook  myself,  as  soon  as  I  had  received  this  order,  to  a 
furnishing  contractor,  and,  in  a  few  hours,  the  house  in 
which  we  now  are  had  assumed  its  late  air  of  festival.  My 
scheme  was  at  least  original;  and  I  am  far  from  regretting 
an  action  which  has  procured  me  the  services  of  Major 
O'Rooke  and  Lieutenant  Brackenbury  Rich.  But  the  serv- 
ants in  the  street  will  have  a  strange  awakening.  The  house 
which  this  evening  was  full  of  lights  and  visitors  they  will 
find  uninhabited  and  for  sale  to-morrow  morning.  Thus 
even  the  most  serious  concerns,"  added  the  Colonel,  "  have  a 
merry  side." 

"  And  let  us  add  a  merry  ending,"  said  Brackenbury. 

The  Colonel  consulted  his  watch. 

"  It  is  now  hard  on  two,"  he  said.  "  We  have  an  hour 
before  us,  and  a  swift  cab  is  at  the  door.  Tell  me  if  I  may 
count  upon  your  help." 

"During  a  long  life,"  replied  Major  O'Rooke,  "I  never 
took  back  my  hand  from  anything,  nor  so  much  as  hedged 
a  bet." 

Brackenbury  signified  his  readiness  in  the  most  becoming 
terms ;  and  after  they  had  drunk  a  glass  or  two  of  wine, 
the  Colonel  gave  each  of  them  a  loaded  revolver,  and  the 
three  mounted  into  the  cab  and  drove  off  for  the  address  in 
question. 

Rochester  House  was  a  magnificent  residence  on  the  banks 
of  the  canal.     The  large  extent  of  the  garden  isolated  it  in 

70 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

an  unusual  degree  from  the  annoyances  of  neigliborliood.  It 
seemed  the  pare  aux  cerfs  of  some  great  nobleman  or  mil- 
lionaire. As  far  as  could  be  seen  from  the  street,  there  was 
not  a  glimmer  of  light  in  any  of  the  numerous  windows  of 
the  mansion ;  and  the  place  had  a  look  of  neglect,  as  though 
the  master  had  been  long  from  home. 

The  cab  was  discharged,  and  the  three  gentlemen  were  not 
long  in  discovering  the  small  door,  which  was  a  sort  of 
postern  in  a  lane  between  two  garden  walls.  It  still  wanted 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  of  the  appointed  time,  the  rain  fell 
heavily,  and  the  adventurers  sheltered  themselves  below  some 
pendent  ivy,  and  spoke  in  low  tones  of  the  approaching  trial. 

Suddenly  Geraldine  raised  his  finger  to  command  silence, 
and  all  three  bent  their  hearing  to  the  utmost.  Through  the 
continuous  noise  of  the  rain,  the  steps  and  voices  of  two 
men  became  audible  from  the  other  side  of  the  wall ;  and,  as 
they  drew  nearerj  Brackenbury,  whose  sense  of  hearing  was 
remarkably  acute,  could  even  distinguish  some  fragments  of 
their  talk. 

"  Is  the  grave  dug?  "  asked  one. 

"It  is,"  replied  the  other;  "behind  the  laurel  hedge. 
When  the  job  is  done,  we  can  cover  it  with  a  pile  of  stakes." 

The  first  speaker  laughed,  and  the  sound  of  his  merriment 
was  shocking  to  the  listeners  on  the  other  side. 

"  In  an  hour  from  now,'^  he  said. 

And  by  the  sound  of  the  steps  it  was  obvious  that  the  pair 
had  separated,  and  were  proceeding  in  contrary  directions. 

Almost  immediately  after  the  postern  door  was  cautiously 
opened,  a  white  face  was  protruded  into  the  lane,  and  a  hand 
was  seen  beckoning  to  the  watchers.  In  dead  silence  the 
three  passed  the  door,  which  was  immediately  locked  behind 
them,  and  followed  their  guide  through  several  garden  alleys 
to  the  kitchen  entrance  of  the  house.  A  single  candle  burned 
in  the  great  paved  kitchen,  which  was  destitute  of  the  cus- 
tomary furniture ;  and  as  the  party  proceeded  to  ascend  from 
thence  by  a  flight  of  winding  stairs,  a  prodigious  noise  of 
rats  testified  stiU  more  plainly  to  the  dilapidation  of  the 
house. 

71 


NEW   AHABIAN   XIGHTS 

Their  conductor  preceded  them,  carrying  the  candle.  He 
was  a  lean  man,  much  bent,  but  still  agile ;  and  he  turned 
from  time  to  time  and  admonished  silence  and  caution  by  his 
gestures.  Colonel  Geraldine  followed  on  his  heels,  the  case 
of  swords  under  one  arm,  and  a  pistol  ready  in  the  other. 
Brackenbury's  heart  beat  thickly.  He  perceived  that  they 
were  still  in  time ;  but  he  j  udged  from  the  alacrity  of  the  old 
man  that  the  hour  of  action  must  be  near  at  hand ;  the  cir- 
cumstances of  this  adventure  were  so  obscure  and  menacing, 
the  place  seemed  so  well  chosen  for  the  darkest  acts,  that 
an  older  man  than  Brackenbury  might  have  been  pardoned  a 
measure  of  emotion  as  he  closed  the  procession  up  the  wind- 
ing stair. 

At  the  top  the  guide  threw  open  a  door  and  ushered  the 
three  officers  before  him  into  a  small  apartment,  lighted  by 
a  smoky  lamp  and  the  glow  of  a  modest  fire.  At  the  chimney 
corner  sat  a  man  in  the  early  prime  of  life,  and  of  a  stout 
but  courtly  and  commanding  appearance.  His  attitude  and 
expression  were  those  of  the  most  unmoved  composure ;  he 
was  smoking  a  cheroot  with  much  enjoyment  and  delibera- 
tion, and  on  a  table  by  his  elbow  stood  a  long  glass  of  some 
effervescing  beverage  which  diffused  an  agreeable  odor 
through  the  room. 

"  Welcome,"  said  he,  extending  his  hand  to  Colonel  Geral- 
dine.    "  I  knew  I  might  count  on  your  exactitude." 

"  On  my  devotion,"  replied  the  Colonel,  with  a  bow. 

"  Present  me  to  your  friends,"  continued  the  first ;  and, 
when  that  ceremony  had  been  performed,  "  I  wish,  gentle- 
men," he  added,  with  the  most  exquisite  affability,  "  that  I 
could  offer  you  a  more  cheerful  programme ;  it  is  ungracious 
to  inaugurate  an  acquaintance  upon  serious  affairs ;  but  the 
compulsion  of  events  is  stronger  than  the  obligations  of 
good-fellowship.  I  hope  and  believe  you  will  be  able  to  for- 
give me  this  unpleasant  evening ;  and  for  men  of  your  stamp 
it  will  be  enough  to  know  that  you  are  conferi'ing  a  consid- 
erable favor." 

*'  Your  Highness,"  said  the  Major,  "  must  pardon  my 
bluntness.     I  am  unable  to  hide  what  I  know.     For  some 

72 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

time  back  I  have  suspected  Major  Haramersmltli,  but  Mr. 
Godall  is  unmistakable.  To  seek  two  men  in  London  unac- 
quainted with  Prince  Florizel  of  Bohemia  was  to  ask  too 
much  at  Fortune's  hands." 

"Prince  Florizel!"  cried  Brackenbur}^  in  amazement. 

And  he  gazed  with  the  deepest  interest  on  the  features  of 
the  celebrated  personage  before  him. 

"  I  shall  not  lament  the  loss  of  my  incognito,"  remarked 
the  Prince,  "  for  it  enables  me  to  thank  you  with  the  more 
authority.  You  would  have  done  as  much  for  Mr.  Godall, 
I  feel  sure,  as  for  the  Prince  of  Bohemia ;  but  the  latter  can 
perhaps  do  more  for  j^ou.  The  gain  is  mine,"  he  added,  with 
a  courteous  gesture. 

And  the  next  moment  he  was  conversing  with  the  two 
officers  about  the  Indian  army  and  the  native  troops,  a  sub- 
ject on  which,  as  on  all  others,  he  had  a  remarkable  fund 
of  infonnation  and  the  soundest  views. 

There  was  something  so  striking  in  this  man's  attitude  at 
a  moment  of  deadly  peril  that  Brackenbury  was  overcome 
with  respectful  admiration ;  nor  was  he  less  sensible  to  the 
charm  of  his  conversation  or  the  surprising  amenity  of  his 
address.  Every  gesture,  every  intonation,  was  not  only  noble 
in  itself,  but  seemed  to  ennoble  the  fortunate  mortal  for 
whom  it  was  intended ;  and  Brackenbury  confessed  to  himself 
with  enthusiasm  that  this  was  a  sovereign  for  whom  a  brave 
man  might  thankfully  lay  down  his  life. 

Many  minutes  had  thus  passed,  when  the  person  who  had 
introduced  them  into  the  house,  and  who  had  sat  ever  since  in 
a  corner,  and  with  his  watch  in  his  hand,  arose  and  whispered 
a  word  into  the  Prince's  ear. 

"  It  is  well.  Dr.  Noel,"  replied  Florizel,  aloud ;  and  then 
addressing  the  others,  "  You  will  excuse  me,  gentlemen,'^  he 
added,  "  if  I  have  to  leave  you  in  the  dark.  The  moment 
now  approaches." 

Dr.  Noel  extinguished  the  lamp.  A  faint,  gray  light,  pre- 
monitory to  the  dawn,  illuminated  the  window,  but  was  not 
sufficient  to  illuminate  the  room;  and  when  the  Prince  rose 
to  his  feet,  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  liis  features  or 

73 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

to  make  a  guess  at  the  nature  of  the  emotion  which  obviously 
affected  him  as  he  spoke.  He  moved  towards  the  door,  and 
placed  himself  at  one  side  of  it  in  an  attitude  of  the  wariest 
attention. 

"  You  will  have  the  kindness,"  he  said,  "  to  maintain  the 
strictest  silence,  send  to  conceal  yourselves  in  the  densest  of 
the  shadow." 

The  three  officers  and  the  physician  hastened  to  obey,  and 
for  nearly  ten  minutes  the  only  sound  in  Rochester  House 
was  occasioned  by  the  excursions  of  the  rats  behind  the  wood- 
work. At  the  end  of  that  period,  a  loud  creak  of  a  hinge 
broke  in  with  surprising  distinctness  on  the  silence ;  and 
shortly  after,  the  watchers  could  distinguish  a  slow  and 
cautious  tread  approaching  up  the  kitchen  stair.  At  every 
second  step  the  intruder  seemed  to  pause  and  lend  an  ear, 
and  during  these  intervals,  which  seemed  of  an  incalculable 
duration,  a  profound  disquiet  possessed  the  spirit  of  the  lis- 
teners. Dr.  Noel,  accustomed  as  he  was  to  dangerous  emo- 
tions, suffered  an  almost  pitiful  physical  prostration ;  his 
breath  whistled  in  his  lungs,  his  teeth  grated  one  upon  an- 
other, and  his  joints  cracked  aloud  as  he  nervously  shifted 
his  position. 

At  last  a  hand  was  laid  upon  the  door,  and  the  bolt  shot 
back  with  a  slight  report.  There  followed  another  pause, 
during  which  Brackenbury  could  see  the  Prince  draw  himself 
together  noiselessly  as  if  for  some  unusual  exertion.  Then 
the  door  opened,  letting  in  a  little  more  of  the  light  of  the 
morning;  and  the  figure  of  a  man  appeared  upon  the  thres- 
hold and  stood  motionless.  He  was  tall,  and  carried  a  knife 
in  his  hand.  Even  in  the  twilight  they  could  see  his  upper 
teeth  bare  and  glistening,  for  his  mouth  was  open  like  that 
of  a  hound  about  to  leap.  The  man  had  evidently  been  over 
the  head  in  water  but  a  minute  or  two  before;  and  even  while 
he  stood  there  the  drops  kept  falling  from  his  wet  clothes 
and  pattered  on  the  floor. 

The  next  moment  he  crossed  the  threshold.  There  was 
a  leap,  a  stifled  cry,  an  instantaneous  struggle;  and  before 

74 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

Colonel  Geraldine  could  spring  to  his  aid,  the  Prince  held 
the  man,  disarmed  and  helpless,  by  the  shoulders. 

"  Dr.  Noel,"  he  said,  "  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  relight 
the  lamp." 

And  relinquishing  the  charge  of  his  prisoner  tp  Geraldine 
and  Brackenbury,  he  crossed  the  room  and  set  his  back 
against  the  chimney-piece.  As  soon  as  the  lamp  had  kindled, 
the  party  beheld  an  unaccustomed  sternness  on  the  Prince's 
features.  It  was  no  longer  Florizel,  the  careless  gentleman; 
it  was  the  Prince  of  Bohemia,  justly  Incensed  and  full  of 
deadly  purpose,  who  now  raised  his  head  and  addressed  the 
captive  President  of  the  Suicide  Club. 

"  President,"  he  said,  "  you  have  laid  your  last  snare,  and 
your  own  feet  are  taken  in  it.  The  day  is  beginning;  it  is 
your  last  morning.  You  have  just  swum  the  Regent's  Canal ; 
it  is  your  last  bath  in  this  world.  Your  old  accomplice,  Dr. 
Noel,  so  far  from  betra3'ing  me,  has  delivered  you  into  my 
hands  for  judgment.  And  the  grave  you  had  dug  for  me 
this  afternoon  shall  serve,  in  God's  almighty  providence,  to 
hide  your  own  just  doom  from  the  curiosity  of  mankind. 
Kneel  and  pray,  sir,  if  you  have  a  mind  that  way ;  for  your 
time  is  short,  and  God  is  weary  of  your  iniquities." 

The  President  made  no  answer  either  by  word  or  sign ; 
but  continued  to  hang  his  head  and  gaze  sullenly  on  the 
floor,  as  though  he  were  conscious  of  the  Prince's  prolonged 
and  unsparing  regard. 

"  Gentlemen,"  continued  Florizel,  resuming  the  ordinary 
tone  of  his  conversation,  "  this  is  a  fellow  who  has  long 
eluded  me,  but  whom,  thanks  to  Dr.  Noel,  I  now  have  tightly 
by  the  heels.  To  tell  the  story  of  his  misdeeds  would  occupy 
more  time  than  we  can  now  afford ;  but  If  the  canal  had  con- 
tained nothing  but  the  blood  of  his  victims,  I  believe  the 
wretch  would  have  been  no  drier  than  you  see  him.  Even 
in  an  affair  of  this  sort  I  desire  to  preserve  the  forms  of 
honor.  But  I  make  you  the  judges,  gentlemen — ^thls  is  more 
an  execution  than  a  duel ;  and  to  give  the  rogue  his  choice 
of  weapons  would  be  to  push  too  far  a  point  of  etiquette.     I 

75 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

cannot  aiFord  to  lose  my  life  in  such  a  business,"  he  con- 
tinued, unlocking  the  case  of  swords,  "  and  as  a  pistol-bullet 
travels  so  often  on  the  wings  of  chance,  and  skill  and  cour- 
age may  fall  by  the  most  trembling  marksman,  I  have  de- 
cided, and  I  feel  sure  you  will  approve  my  determination,  to 
put  this  question  to  the  touch  of  swords." 

When  Brackenbury  and  Major  O'Rooke,  to  whom  these 
remarks  were  particularly  addressed,  had  each  intimated  his 
approval,  "  Quick,  sir,"  added  Prince  Florizel  to  the  Presi- 
dent, "  choose  a  blade  and  do  not  keep  me  waiting ;  I  have 
an  impatience  to  be  done  with  you  for  ever." 

For  the  first  time  since  he  was  captured  and  disarmed  the 
President  raised  his  head,  and  it  was  plain  that  he  began 
instantly  to  pluck  up  courage. 

*'  Is  it  to  be  stand  up .''  "  he  asked  eagerly,  "  and  between 
you  and  me?  " 

"  I  mean  so  far  to  honor  you,"  replied  the  Prince. 

*'  Oh,  come ;  "  cried  the  President.  "  With  a  fair  field, 
who  knows  how  things  may  happen?  I  must  add  that  I 
consider  it  handsome  behavior  on  your  Highness's  part;  and 
if  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst  I  shall  die  by  one  of  the  most 
gallant  gentlemen  in  Europe? 

And  the  President,  liberated  by  those  who  had  detained 
him,  stepped  up  to  the  table  and  began,  with  minute  atten- 
tion, to  select  a  sword.  He  was  highly  elated,  and  seemed 
to  feel  no  doubt  that  he  should  issue  victorious  from  the 
contest.  The  spectators  grew  alarmed  in  the  face  of  so 
entire  a  confidence,  and  adjured  Prince  Florizel  to  reconsider 
his  intention. 

"  It  is  but  a  farce,"  he  answered ;  "  and  I  think  I  can  prom- 
ise you,  gentlemen,  that  it  will  not  be  long  a-playing." 

"  Your  Highness  will  be  careful  not  to  overreach,"  said 
Colonel  Geraldine. 

"  Geraldine,"  returned  the  Prince,  "  did  you  ever  know 
me  fail  in  a  debt  of  honor?  I  owe  you  this  man's  death,  and 
you  shall  have  it." 

The  President  at  last  satisfied  himself  with  one  of  the 
rapiers,   and  signified  liis   readiness  by  a  gesture  that  was 

76 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

not  devoid  of  a  rude  nobility.  The  nearness  of  peril,  and 
the  sense  of  courage,  even  to  this  obnoxious  villain,  lent  an 
air  of  manhood  and  a  certain  grace. 

The  Prince  helped  himself  at  random  to  a  sword. 

"  Colonel  Geraldine  and  Doctor  Noel,"  he  said,  "  will  have 
the  goodness  to  await  me  in  this  room.  I  wish  no  personal 
friend  of  mine  to  be  involved  in  this  transaction.  Major 
O'Rooke,  you  are  a  man  of  some  years  and  a  settled  reputa- 
tion— let  me  recommend  the  President  to  your  good  graces. 
Lieutenant  Rich  will  be  so  good  as  to  lend  me  his  attentions : 
a  young  man  cannot  have  too  much  experience  in  such 
affairs." 

"  Your  Highness,"  replied  Brackenbury,  "  it  is  an  honor 
I  shall  prize  extremely." 

"  It  is  well,"  returned  Prince  Florizel ;  *'  I  shall  hope  to 
stand  your  friend  in  more  important  circumstances." 

And  so  saying  he  led  the  way  out  of  the  apartment  and 
down  the  kitchen  stairs. 

The  two  men  who  were  thus  left  alone  threw  open  the  win- 
dow and  leaned  out,  straining  every  sense  to  catch  an  indica- 
tion of  the  tragical  events  that  were  about  to  follow.  The 
rain  was  now  over;  day  had  almost  come,  and  the  birds  were 
piping  in  the  shrubbery  and  on  the  forest  trees  of  the  gar- 
den. The  Prince  and  his  companions  were  visible  for  a 
moment  as  they  followed  an  alley  between  two  flowering 
thickets ;  but  at  the  first  corner  a  clump  of  foliage  inter- 
vened, and  they  were  again  concealed  from  view.  This  was 
all  that  the  Colonel  and  the  physician  had  an  opportunity  to 
see,  and  the  garden  was  so  vast,  and  the  place  of  combat 
evidently  so  remote  from  the  house  that  not  even  the  noise  of 
sword-play  reached  their  ears. 

"  He  has  taken  him  towards  the  grave,"  said  Dr.  Noel, 
with  a  shudder. 

"  God,"  cried  the  Colonel,  "  God  defend  the  right ! " 

And  they  awaited  the  event  in  silence,  the  Doctor  shaking 
with  fear,  the  Colonel  in  an  agony  of  sweat.  Many  minutes 
must  have  elapsed,  the  day  was  sensibly  broader,  and  the 
birds  were  singing  more  heartily  in  the  garden  before  a  sound 

77 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

of  returning  footsteps  recalled  their  glances  towards  the 
door.  It  was  the  Prince  and  the  two  Indian  officers  who 
entered.     God  had  defended  the  right. 

"  I  am  ashamed  of  my  emotion,"  said  Prince  Florizel ; 
"  I  feel  it  a  weakness  unworthy  of  my  station,  but  the  con- 
tinued existence  of  that  hound  of  hell  had  begun  to  play 
upon  me  like  a  disease,  and  his  death  has  more  refreshed 
me  than  a  night  of  slumber.  Look,  Geraldine,"  he  continued, 
throwing  his  sword  upon  the  floor,  "  there  is  the  blood  of 
the  man  who  killed  your  brother.  It  should  be  a  welcome 
sight.  And  yet,"  he  added,  "  see  how  strangely  we  men 
are  made !  my  revenge  is  not  yet  five  minutes  old,  and  already 
I  am  beginning  to  ask  myself  if  even  revenge  be  attainable 
on  this  precarious  stage  of  life.  The  ill  he  did,  who  can 
undo  it.''  The  career  in  which  he  amassed  a  huge  fortune 
(for  the  house  itself  in  which  he  stayed  belonged  to  him) — 
that  career  is  now  a  part  of  the  destiny  of  mankind  forever ; 
and  I  might  weary  myself  making  thrusts  in  carte  until  the 
crack  of  judgment,  and  Geraldine's  brother  would  be  none 
the  less  dead,  and  a  thousand  other  innocent  persons  would 
be  none  the  less  dishonored  and  debauched !  The  existence  of 
a  man  is  so  small  a  thing  to  take,  so  mighty  a  thing  to 
employ !  Alas !  "  he  cried,  "  is  there  anything  in  life  so 
disenchanting  as  attainment?  " 

"  God's  justice  has  been  done,"  replied  the  Doctor.  "  So 
much  I  behold.  The  lesson,  your  Highness,  has  been  a  cruel 
one  for  me ;  and  I  await  my  own  turn  with  deadly  appre- 
hension." 

"  What  was  I  saying.?  "  cried  the  Prince.  "  I  have  pun- 
ished, and  here  is  the  man  beside  us  who  can  help  me  to  undo. 
Ah,  Dr.  Noel !  you  and  I  have  before  us  many  a  day  of  hard 
and  honorable  toil;  and  perhaps,  before  we  have  done,  you 
may  have  more  than  redeemed  your  early  errors." 

"  And  in  the  meantime,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  let  me  go  and 
bury  my  oldest  friend." 

(And  this,  observes  the  erudite  Arabian,  is  the  fortunate 
conclusion  of  the  tale.     The  Prince,  it  is  superfluous  to  men- 

78 


THE    SUICIDE    CLUB 

tion,  forgot  none  of  those  who  served  him  in  this  great  ex- 
ploit; and  to  this  day  his  authority  and  influence  help  them 
forward  in  their  public  career,  while  his  condescending 
friendship  adds  a  charm  to  their  private  life.  To  collect, 
continues  the  author,  all  the  strange  events  in  which  this 
Prince  has  played  the  part  of  Providence  were  to  fill  the 
habitable  globe  with  books.  But  the  stories  which  relate  to 
the  fortunes  of  The  Rajah's  Diamond  are  of  too  entertain- 
ing a  description,  says  he,  to  be  omitted.  Following  pru/- 
dently  in  the  footsteps  of  this  Oriental,  we  shall  now  begin 
the  series  to  which  he  refers  with  the  Stoey  of  the  Band- 
box.) 


79 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 


THE   RAJAH'S  DIAMOND 

STORY    OF    THE    BANDBOX 

UP  to  the  age  of  sixteen,  at  a  private  school  and  after- 
wards at  one  of  those  great  institutions  for  which 
England  is  justly  famous,  Mr.  Harry  Hartley  had  received 
the  ordinary  education  of  a  gentleman.  At  that  period,  he 
manifested  a  remarkable  distaste  for  study ;  and  his  only 
surviving  parent  being  both  weak  and  ignorant,  he  was  per- 
mitted thenceforward  to  spend  his  time  in  the  attainment  of 
petty  and  purely  elegant  accomplishments.  Two  years  later, 
he  was  left  an  orphan  and  almost  a  beggar.  For  all  active 
and  industrious  pursuits,  Harry  was  unfitted  alike  by  nature 
and  training.  He  could  sing  romantic  ditties,  and  accom- 
pany himself  with  discretion  on  the  piano ;  he  was  a  graceful 
although  a  timid  cavalier;  he  had  a  pronounced  taste  for 
chess ;  and  nature  had  sent  him  into  the  world  with  one  of 
the  most  engaging  exteriors  that  can  well  be  fancied.  Blond 
and  pink,  with  dove's  eyes  and  a  gentle  smile,  he  had  an  air 
of  agreeable  tenderness  and  melancholy,  and  the  most  sub- 
missive and  caressing  manners.  But  when  all  is  said,  he 
was  not  the  man  to  lead  armaments  of  war,  or  direct  the 
councils  of  a  State. 

A  fortunate  chance  and  some  influence  obtained  for 
Harry,  at  the  time  of  his  bereavement,  the  position  of 
private  secretary  to  Major-General  Sir  Thomas  Vandeleur, 
C.B.  Sir  Thomas  was  a  man  of  sixty,  loud-spoken,  boister- 
ous, and  domineering.  For  some  reason,  some  service  the 
nature  of  which  had  been  often  whispered  and  repeated!}' 
denied,  the  Rajah  of  Kashgar  had  presented  this  officer  with 
the  sixth  known  diamond  of  the  world.  The  gift  trans- 
formed General  Vandeleur  from  a  poor  into  a  wealthy  man, 

83 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

from  an  obscure  and  unpopular  soldier  into  one  of  the  lions 
of  London  society;  the  possessor  of  the  Rajah's  Diamond 
was  welcome  in  the  most  exclusive  circles ;  and  he  had  found 
a  lady,  young,  beautiful,  and  well-born,  who  was  willing  to 
call  the  diamond  hers  even  at  the  price  of  marriage  with 
Sir  Thomas  Vandeleur.  It  was  commonly  said  at  the  time 
that,  as  like  draws  to  like,  one  jewel  had  attracted  another; 
certainly  Lady  Vandeleur  was  not  only  a  gem  of  the  finest 
water  in  her  own  person,  but  she  showed  herself  to  the  world 
In  a  very  costly  setting;  and  she  was  considered  by  many 
respectable  authorities,  as  one  among  the  three  or  four  best 
dressed  women  in  England. 

Harry's  duty  as  secretary  was  not  particularly  onerous ; 
but  he  had  a  dislike  for  all  prolonged  work ;  it  gave  him  pain 
to  ink  his  fingers ;  and  the  charms  of  Lady  Vandeleur  and 
her  toilettes  drew  him  often  from  the  library  to  the  boudoir. 
He  had  the  prettiest  ways  among  women,  could  talk  fash- 
ions with  enjoyment,  and  was  never  more  happy  than  when 
criticising  a  shade  of  ribbon,  or  running  on  an  errand  to  the 
milliner's.  In  short.  Sir  Thomas's  correspondence  fell  Into 
pitiful  arrears,  and  my  Lady  had  another  lady's  maid. 

At  last  the  General,  who  was  one  of  the  least  patient  of 
military  commanders,  arose  from  his  place  In  a  violent  ex- 
cess of  passion,  and  Indicated  to  his  secretary  that  he  had 
no  further  use  for  his  services,  with  one  of  those  explana- 
tory gestures  which  are  most  rarely  employed  between  gen- 
tlemen. The  door  being  unfortunately  open,  Mr.  Hartley 
fell  downstairs  head  foremost. 

He  arose  somewhat  hurt  and  very  deeply  aggrieved.  The 
life  in  the  General's  house  precisely  suited  him ;  he  moved, 
on  a  more  or  less  doubtful  footing,  in  very  genteel  company, 
he  did  little,  he  ate  of  the  best,  and  he  had  a  lukewarm  satis- 
faction in  the  presence  of  Lady  Vandeleur,  which,  In  hia 
own  heart,  he  dubbed  by  a  more  emphatic  name. 

Immediately  after  he  had  been  outraged  b}^  the  military 
foot,  he  hurried  to  the  boudoir  and  recounted  his  sorrows. 

"  You  know  very  well,  my  dear  Harry,"  replied  Lady 
Vandeleur,  for  she   called  him  hf'  name  like  a  child  or  a 

84i 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

domestic  servant,  "  that  you  never  by  any  chance  do  what 
the  General  tells  you.  No  more  do  I,  you  may  say.  But 
that  is  different.  A  woman  can  earn  her  pardon  for  a  good 
year  of  disobedience  by  a  single  adroit  submission ;  and,  be- 
sides, no  one  is  married  to  his  private  secretary.  I  shall  be 
sorry  to  lose  you,  but  since  3^ou  cannot  stay  longer  in  a 
house  where  you  have  been  insulted,  I  shall  wish  you  good- 
bj^e,  and  I  promise  you  to  make  the  General  smart  for  his 
behavior." 

Harry's  countenance  fell ;  tears  came  into  his  eyes,  and 
he  gazed  on  Lady  Vandelcur  with  a  tender  reproach. 

"  My  Lady,"  said  he,  "  what  is  an  insult  ?  I  should  think 
little  indeed  of  anyone  who  could  not  forgive  them  by  the 
score.  But  to  leave  one's  friends ;  to  tear  up  the  bonds  of 
affection " 

He  was  unable  to  continue,  for  his  emotion  choked  him, 
and  he  began  to  weep. 

Lady  Vandeleur  looked  at  him  with  a  curious  expression. 

"  This  little  fool,"  she  thought,  "  imagines  himself  to  be 
in  love  with  me.  Why  should  he  not  become  my  servant 
instead  of  the  General's  .^  He  is  good-natured,  obliging, 
and  understands  dress ;  and  besides  it  will  keep  him  out  of 
mischief.     He  is  positively  too  pretty  to  be  unattached." 

That  night  she  talked  over  the  General,  who  was  already 
somewhat  ashamed  of  his  vivacity ;  and  Harry  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  feminine  department,  where  his  life  was  little 
short  of  heavenly.  He  was  alwa^'s  dressed  with  uncommon 
nicety,  wore  delicate  flowers  in  his  buttoiiliole,  and  could 
entertain  a  Aasitor  with  tact  and  pleasantry.  He  took  a 
pride  in  servility  to  a  beautiful  woman ;  received  Lady  Van- 
deleur's  commands  as  so  many  marks  of  favor ;  and  was 
pleased  to  exhibit  himself  before  other  men,  who  derided  and 
despised  him,  in  his  character  of  male  lady's-maid  and  man 
milliner.  Nor  could  he  think  enough  of  his  existence  from 
a  moral  point  of  view.  Wickedness  seemed  to  him  an  essen- 
tially male  attribute,  and  to  pass  one's  days  with  a  delicate 
woman,  and  principally  occupied  about  trimmings,  was  to 
inhabit  an  enchanted  isle  among  the  storms  of  life. 

85 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

One  fine  morning  he  came  into  the  drawing-room  and 
began  to  arrange  some  music  on  the  top  of  the  piano.  Lady 
Vandeleur,  at  the  other  end  of  the  apartment,  was  speaking 
somewhat  eagerly  with  her  brother,  CharHe  Pendragon,  an 
elderly  young  man,  much  broken  with  dissipation,  and  very 
lame  of  one  foot.  The  private  secretary,  to  whose  entrance 
they  paid  no  regard,  could  not  avoid  overhearing  a  part  of 
their  conversation. 

"  To-day  or  never,"  said  the  lady.  "  Once  and  for  all,  it 
shall  be  done  to-day." 

"  To-day,  if  it  must  be,"  replied  the  brother,  with  a  sigh. 
"  But  it  is  a  false  step,  a  ruinous  step,  Clara ;  and  we  shall 
live  to  repent  it  dismally." 

Lady  Vandeleur  looked  her  brother  steadily  and  some- 
what strangely  in  the  face. 

"  You  forget,"  she  said ;  "  the  man  must  die  at  last." 

"  Upon  my  word,  Clara,"  said  Pendragon,  "  I  believe  you 
are  the  most  heartless  rascal  in  England." 

"  You  men,"  she  returned,  "  are  so  coarsely  built,  that 
you  can  never  appreciate  a  shade  of  meaning.  You  are  your- 
selves rapacious,  violent,  immodest,  careless  of  distinction; 
and  yet  the  least  thought  for  the  future  shocks  you  in  a 
woman.  I  have  no  patience  with  such  stuff.  You  would 
despise  in  a  common  banker  the  imbecility  that  you  expect 
to  find  in  us." 

"  You  are  very  likely  right,"  replied  her  brother ;  "  you 
were  always  cleverer  than  I.  And,  anyway,  you  know  my 
motto:  the  family  before  all." 

"  Yes,  Charlie,"  she  returned,  taking  his  hand  in  hers,  "  I 
know  your  motto  better  than  you  know  it  yourself.  And 
*  Clara  before  the  family ! '  Is  not  that  the  second  part  of 
it?  Indeed,  you  are  the  best  of  brothers,  and  I  love  you 
dearly." 

Mr.  Pendragon  got  up,  looking  a  little  confused  by  these 
family  endearments. 

"  I  had  better  not  be  seen,"  said  he.  **  I  understand 
my  part  to  a  miracle,  and  I'll  keep  an  eye  on  the  Tame 
Cat." 

86 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

"  Do,"  she  replied.  "  He  Is  an  abject  creature,  and  might 
ruin  all." 

She  kissed  the  tips  of  her  fingers  to  him  daintily ;  and 
the  brother  withdrew  by  the  boudoir  and  the  back  stair. 

"  Harry,"  said  Lady  Vandeleur,  turning  towards  the  sec- 
retary as  soon  as  they  were  alone,  "  I  have  a  commission 
for  you  this  morning.  But  you  shall  take  a  cab;  I  cannot 
have  my  secretary  freckled." 

She  spoke  the  last  words  with  emphasis  and  a  look  of  half- 
motherly  pride  that  caused  great  contentment  to  poor 
Harry ;  and  he  professed  himself  charmed  to  find  an  oppor- 
tunity of  serving  her. 

"  It  is  another  of  our  great  secrets,"  she  went  on,  archly, 
"  and  no  one  must  know  of  it  but  my  secretary  and  me.  Sir 
Thomas  would  make  the  saddest  disturbance ;  and  if  you 
only  knew  how  weary  I  am  of  these  scenes !  Oh,  Harry, 
Harry,  can  you  explain  to  me  what  makes  you  men  so  vio- 
lent and  unjust.'*  But,  indeed,  I  know  you  cannot;  you  are 
the  only  man  in  the  world  who  knows  nothing  of  these  shame- 
ful passions ;  you  are  so  good,  Harry,  and  so  kind ;  you,  at 
least,  can  be  a  woman's  friend;  and,  do  you  know.?  I  think 
you  make  the  others  more  ugly  by  comparison." 

"  It  is  you,"  said  Harry,  gallantly,  "  who  are  so  kind  to 
me.     You  treat  me  like " 

"  Like  a  mother,"  interposed  Lady  Vandeleur,  "  I  try  to 
be  a  mother  to  you.  Or,  at  least,"  she  corrected  herself  with 
a  smile,  "  almost  a  mother.  I  am  afraid  I  am  too  young  to 
be  your  mother  really.    Let  us  say  a  friend — a  dear  friend." 

She  paused  long  enough  to  let  her  words  take  eff^ect  in 
Harry's  sentimental  quarters,  but  not  long  enough  to  allow 
him  a  reply. 

"  But  all  this  Is  beside  our  purpose,"  she  resumed.  "  You 
will  find  a  bandbox  in  the  left-hand  side  of  the  oak  wardrobe ; 
it  is  underneath  the  pink  slip  that  I  wore  on  Wednesday  with 
my  Mechlin.  You  will  take  it  immediately  to  this  address,'* 
and  she  gave  him  a  paper,  "  but  do  not,  on  any  account,  let 
it  out  of  your  hands  until  you  have  received  a  receipt  written 
by  myself.     Do  you  understand.''     Answer,  if  you  please — 

SI 


NEW   ARABIAl^^   NIGHTS 

answer !  This  Is  extremely  important,  and  I  must  aslc  you 
to  pay  some  attention." 

Harry  pacified  her  by  repeating  her  instructions  per- 
fectly; and  she  was  just  going  to  tell  him  more  when  General 
Vandeleur  flung  into  the  apartment,  scarlet  with  anger,  and 
holding  a  long  and  elaborate  milliner's  bill  in  his  hand. 

"Will  you  look  at  this,  madam?"  cried  he.  "Will  you 
have  the  goodness  to  look  at  this  document.'^  I  know  well 
enough  you  married  me  for  my  money,  and  I  hope  I  can 
make  as  great  allowance  as  any  other  man  in  the  service ; 
but,  as  sure  as  God  made  me,  I  mean  to  put  a  period  to  this 
disreputable  prodigality." 

"  Mr.  Hartley,"  said  Lady  Vandeleur,  "  I  think  you  un- 
derstand what  you  have  to  do.  May  I  ask  you  to  see  to  it 
at  once.f*  " 

"  Stop,"  said  the  General,  addressing  Harry,  "  one  word 
before  you  go."  And  then,  turning  again  to  Lady  Van- 
deleur, "What  is  this  precious  fellow's  errand.''"  he  de^ 
manded.  "  I  trust  him  no  further  than  I  do  yourself,  lei 
me  tell  you.  If  he  had  as  much  as  the  rudiments  of  honesty, 
he  would  scorn  to  stay  in  this  house ;  and  what  he  does  for 
his  wages  is  a  mystery  to  all  the  world.  What  is  his  errand, 
madam.''  and  why  are  you  hurrying  him  away?  " 

"  I  supposed  you  had  something  to  say  to  me  in  private," 
replied  the  lady. 

"  You  spoke  about  an  errand,"  insisted  the  General. 
"  Do  not  attempt  to  deceive  me  in  my  present  state  of 
temper.     You  certainly  spoke  about  an  errand." 

"  If  you  insist  on  making  your  servants  privy  to  our 
humiliating  dissensions,"  replied  Lady  Vandeleur,  "  perhaps 
I  had  better  ask  Mr.  Hartley  to  sit  down.  No?  "  she  con- 
tinued ;  "  then  you  may  go,  INIr.  Hartley.  I  trust  you  may 
remember  all  that  you  have  heard  in  this  room;  it  may  be 
useful  to  you.'^ 

Harry  at  once  made  his  escape  from  the  drawing-room; 
and  as  he  ran  upstairs  he  could  hear  the  General's  voico 
upraised  in  declamation,  and  the  thin  tones  of  Lady  Van- 
deleur planting  icy  repartees  at  every  opening.     How  cor- 

8& 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

dially  he  admired  the  wife !  How  skilfully  she  could  evade 
an  awkward  question ;  with  what  secure  effrontery  she  re- 
peated her  instructions  under  the  very  guns  of  the  enemy! 
and  on  the  other  hand,  how  he  detested  the  husband! 

There  had  been  nothing  unfamiliar  in  the  morning's 
events,  for  he  was  continually  in  the  habit  of  serving  Lady 
Vandeleur  on  secret  missions,  principally  connected  with 
millinery.  There  was  a  skeleton  in  the  house,  as  he  well 
knew.  The  bottomless  extravagance  and  the  unknown  liabil- 
ities of  the  wife  had  long  since  swallowed  her  own  fortune, 
and  threatened  day  by  day  to  engulf  that  of  the  husband. 
Once  or  twice  in  every  year  exposure  and  ruin  seemed  im- 
minent, and  Harry  kept  trotting  round  to  all  sorts  of  fur- 
nishers' shops,  telling  small  fibs,  and  paying  small  advances 
on  the  gross  amount,  until  another  term  was  tided  over,  and 
the  lady  and  her  faithful  secretary  breathed  again.  For 
Harry,  in  a  double  capacity,  was  heart  and  soul  upon  that 
side  of  the  war:  not  only  did  he  adore  Lady  Vandeleur  and 
fear  and  dislike  her  husband,  but  he  naturally  sympathized 
with  the  love  of  finery,  and  his  own  single  extravagance  was 
at  the  tailor's. 

He  found  the  bandbox  where  it  had  been  described,  ar- 
ranged his  toilet  with  care,  and  left  the  house.  The  sun 
shone  brightly ;  the  distance  he  had  to  travel  was  consider- 
able, and  he  remembered  with  dismay  that  the  General's  sud- 
den iri-uption  had  prevented  Lady  Vandeleur  from  giving 
him  money  for  a  cab.  On  this  sultry  day  there  was  every 
chance  that  his  complexion  would  suffer  severely ;  and  to 
walk  through  so  much  of  London  with  a  bandbox  on  his  arm 
was  a  humiliation  almost  insupportable  to  a  youth  of  his 
character.  He  paused,  and  took  counsel  with  himself.  The 
Vandcleurs  lived  in  Eaton  Place ;  his  destination  was  near 
Notting  Hill;  plainly,  he  might  cross  the  Park  by  keep- 
ing well  in  the  open  and  avoiding  populous  alleys ;  and  he 
thanked  his  stars  when  he  reflected  that  it  was  still  com- 
paratively early  in  the  da}-. 

Anxious  to  be  rid  of  his  incubus,  he  walked  somewhat 
faster   than   his    ordinary,    and   he   was    already    some   way 

89 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

through  Kensington  Gardens  when,  in  a  solitary  spot  among 
trees,  he  found  himself  confronted  by  the  General. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Sir  Thomas,"  observed  Harry, 
politely  falling  on  one  side;  for  the  other  stood  directly  in 
his  path. 

"Where  are  you  going,  sir.^*"  asked  the  General. 

"  I  am  taking  a  little  walk  among  the  trees,"  rephed  the 
lad. 

The  General  struck  the  bandbox  with  his  cane. 

"With  that  thing.'*"  he  cried;  "you  lie,  sir,  and  you 
know  you  lie !  " 

"  Indeed,  Sir  Thomas,"  returned  Harry,  "  I  am  not  ac- 
customed to  be  questioned  in  so  high  a  key." 

"  You  do  not  understand  your  position,"  said  the  General. 
"  You  are  my  servant,  and  a  servant  of  whom  I  have  con- 
ceived the  most  serious  suspicions.  How  do  I  know  but  that 
your  box  is  full  of  teaspoons  ?  " 

"  It  contains  a  silk  hat  belonging  to  a  friend,"  said  Harry. 

*'  Very  well,"  replied  General  Vandeleur.  "  Then  I  want 
to  see  your  friend's  silk  hat.  I  have,"  he  added,  grimly,  "  a 
singular  curiosity  for  hats ;  and  I  believe  you  know  me  to  be 
somewhat  positive." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon.  Sir  Thomas,  I  am  exceedingly 
grieved,"  Harry  apologized ;  "  but  indeed  this  is  a  private 
affair." 

The  General  caught  him  roughly  by  the  shoulder  with 
one  hand,  while  he  raised  his  cane  in  the  most  menacing  man- 
ner with  the  other.  Harry  gave  himself  up  for  lost;  but  at 
the  same  moment  Heaven  vouchsafed  him  an  unexpected 
defender  in  the  person  of  Charhe  Pendragon,  who  now  strode 
forward  from  behind  the  trees. 

"  Come,  come.  General,  hold  your  hand,"  said  he,  "  this 
is  neither  courteous  nor  manly." 

"  Aha !  "  cried  the  General,  wheeling  round  upon  his  new 
antagonist,  "  Mr.  Pendragon !  And  do  you  suppose,  Mr. 
Pendragon,  that  because  I  have  had  the  misfortune  to  marry 
your  sister,  I  shall  suffer  myself  to  be  dogged  and  thwarted 
by    a    discredited    and   bankrupt   libertine   like   you.''      My 

90 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

acquaintance  with  Lady  Vandeleur,  sir,  has  taken  away  all 
my  appetite  for  the  other  members  of  her  family." 

"  And  do  you  fancy,  General  Vandeleur,"  retorted  Charlie, 
"  that  because  my  sister  has  had  the  misfortune  to  marry 
you,  she  there  and  then  forfeited  her  rights  and  privileges 
as  a  lady?  I  own,  sir,  that  by  that  action  she  did  as  much 
as  anybody  could  to  derogate  from  her  position ;  but  to  me 
she  is  still  a  Pendragon.  I  make  it  my  business  to  protect 
her  from  ungentlemanly  outrage,  and  if  you  were  ten  times 
her  husband  I  would  not  permit  her  liberty  to  be  restrained, 
nor  her  private  messenger  to  be  violently  arrested." 

"  How  is  that,  Mr.  Hartley  ?  "  interrogated  the  General. 
"  Mr.  Pendragon  is  of  my  opinion,  it  appears.  He  too 
suspects  that  Lady  Vandeleur  has  something  to  do  with  your 
friend's  silk  hat." 

Charlie  saw  that  he  had  committed  an  unpardonable 
blunder,  which  he  hastened  to  repair. 

"How,  sir.?"  he  cried;  "I  suspect,  do  you  say?  I  sus- 
pect nothing.  Only  where  I  find  strength  abused  and  a  man 
brutahzing  his  inferiors,  I  take  the  liberty  to  interfere." 

As  he  said  these  words  he  made  a  sign  to  Harry,  which 
the  latter  was  too  dull  or  too  much  troubled  to  understand. 

"  In  what  way  am  I  to  construe  your  attitude,  sir?  '* 
demanded  Vandeleur. 

"  Why,  sir,  as  you  please,"  returned  Pendragon. 

The  General  once  more  raised  his  cane,  and  made  a  cut 
for  Charlie's  head ;  but  the  latter,  lame  foot  and  all,  evaded 
the  blow  with  his  umbrella,  ran  in,  and  immediately  closed 
with  his  formidable  adversary. 

"  Run,  Harry,  run !  "  he  cried ;  "  run,  you  dolt !  " 

Harry  stood  petrified  for  a  moment,  watching  the  two 
men  sway  together  in  this  fierce  embrace ;  then  he  turned  and 
took  to  his  heels.  When  he  cast  a  glance  over  his  shoulder 
he  saw  the  General  prostrate  under  Charlie's  knee,  but  still 
making  desperate  efforts  to  reverse  the  situation;  and  the 
Gardens  seemed  to  have  filled  with  people,  who  were  running 
from  all  directions  towards  the  scene  of  fight.  This  spec- 
tacle lent  the  secretary  wings ;  and  he  did  not  relax  his  pace 

PI 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

until  he  had  gained  the  Bayswater  road,  and  plunged  at  ran^ 
dom  into  an  unfrequented  by-street. 

To  see  two  gentlemen  of  his  acquaintance  thus  brutally 
mauling  each  other  was  deeply  shocking  to  Harry.  He 
desired  to  forget  the  sight;  he  desired,  above  all,  to  put  as 
great  a  distance  as  possible  between  himself  and  General 
Vandeleur;  and  in  his  eagerness  for  this  he  forgot  every- 
thing about  his  destination,  and  hurried  before  him  head- 
long and  trembling.  When  he  remembered  that  Lady  Van- 
deleur was  the  wife  of  one  and  sister  of  the  other  of  these 
gladiators,  his  heart  was  touched  with  sympathy  for  a 
woman  so  distressingly  misplaced  in  life.  Even  his  own  sit- 
uation In  the  General's  house  looked  hardly  so  pleasing  as 
usual  in  the  light  of  these  violent  transactions. 

He  had  walked  some  little  distance,  busied  with  these 
meditations,  before  a  slight  collision  with  another  passenger 
reminded  him  of  the  bandbox  on  his  arm. 

"  Heavens !  "  cried  he,  "  where  was  my  head.^*  and  whither 
have  I  wandered?  " 

Thereupon  he  consulted  the  envelope  which  liady  Van- 
deleur had  given  him.  The  address  was  there,  but  without 
a  name.  Harry  was  simply  directed  to  ask  for  "  the  gentle- 
man who  expected  a  parcel  from  Lady  Vandeleur,"  and  if 
he  were  not  at  home  to  await  his  return.  The  gentleman, 
added  the  note,  should  present  a  receipt  In  the  handwriting 
of  the  lady  herself.  All  this  seemed  mighty  mysterious,  and 
Harry  was  above  all  astonished  at  the  omission  of  the  name 
and  the  formalit}''  of  the  receipt.  He  had  thought  little  of 
this  last  when  he  heard  it  dropped  In  conversation ;  but  read- 
ing It  In  cold  blood,  and  taking  it  in  connection  with  the 
other  strange  particulars,  he  became  convinced  that  he  was 
engaged  in  perilous  affairs.  For  half  a  moment  he  had  a 
doubt  of  Lady  Vandeleur  herself ;  for  he  found  these  obscure 
proceedings  somewhat  unworthy  of  so  high  a  lady,  and  be- 
came more  critical  when  her  secrets  were  preserved  against 
himself.  But  her  empii'e  over  his  spirit  was  too  complete, 
he  dismissed  his  suspicions,  and  blamed  himself  roundly  for 
having  so  much  as  entertained  them. 

92 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

In  one  thing,  however,  his  duty  and  interest,  his  generosity 
and  his  terrors,  coincided — to  get  rid  of  the  bandbox  with 
the  greatest  possible  despatch. 

He  accosted  the  first  policeman  and  courteously  inquired 
his  way.  It  turned  out  that  he  was  already  not  far  from 
his  destination,  and  a  walk  of  a  fev/  minutes  brought  him  to 
a  small  house  in  a  lane,  freshly  painted,  and  kept  with  the 
most  scrupulous  attention.  The  knocker  and  bell-pull  were 
highly  polished;  flowering  pot-herbs  garnished  the  sills  of 
the  different  windows ;  and  curtains  of  some  rich  material 
concealed  the  interior  from  the  eyes  of  curious  passengers. 
The  place  had  an  air  of  repose  and  secrecy ;  and  Harry  was 
so  far  caught  with  this  spirit  that  he  knocked  with  more 
than  usual  discretion,  and  was  more  than  usually  careful  to 
remove  all  impurity  from  his  boots. 

A  servant-maid  of  some  personal  attractions  immediately 
opened  the  door,  and  seemed  to  regard  the  secretary  with  no 
unkind  eyes. 

"  This  is  the  parcel  from  Lady  Vandeleur,"  said  Harry. 

"  I  know,"  replied  the  maid,  with  a  nod.  "  But  the  gen- 
tleman is  from  home.    Will  you  leave  it  with  me?  " 

*'  I  cannot,"  answered  Harry.  "  I  am  directed  not  to  part 
with  it  but  upon  a  certain  condition,  and  I  must  ask  you,  I 
am  afraid,  to  let  me  wait." 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  I  suppose  I  may  let  you  wait.  I  am 
lonely  enough,  I  can  tell  you,  and  you  do  not  look  as 
though  you  would  eat  a  girl.  But  be  sure  and  do  not  ask  the 
gentleman's  name,  for  that  I  am  not  to  tell  you." 

"Do  you  say  so?"  cried  Harry.  "Why,  how  strange; 
But  indeed  for  some  time  back  I  walk  among  surprises.  One 
question  I  think  I  may  surely  ask  without  indiscretion:  Is 
he  the  master  of  this  house?  " 

"  He  is  a  lodger,  and  not  eight  days  old  at  that,"  returned 
the  maid.  "  And  now  a  question  for  a  question :  Do  you 
know  Lady  Vandeleur?  " 

"  I  am  her  private  secretary,"  replied  Harrj^,  with  a  glow 
of  modest  pride. 

"  She  is  pretty,  is  she  not?  "  pursued  the  servant. 

93 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  Oh,  beautiful !  "  cried  Harry ;  "  wonderfully  lovely,  and 
not  less  good  and  kind !  " 

"  You  look  kind  enough  yourself,"  she  retorted ;  "  and  I 
wager  you  are  worth  a  dozen  Lady  Vandeleurs." 

Harry  was  properly  scandalized. 

*'  I !  "  he  cried.     "  I  am  only  a  secretary !  " 

"  Do  you  mean  that  for  me  ?  "  said  the  girl.  "  Because 
I  am  only  a  housemaid,  if  you  please."  And  then,  relenting 
at  the  sight  of  Harry's  obvious  confusion,  "  I  know  you 
mean  nothing  of  the  sort,"  she  added ;  "  and  I  like  your 
looks ;  but  I  think  nothing  of  your  Lady  Vandeleur.  Oh, 
these  mistresses !  "  she  cried.  "  To  send  out  a  real  gentle- 
man like  you — with  a  bandbox — in  broad  day !  " 

During  this  talk  they  had  remained  in  their  original  posi- 
tions— she  on  the  doorstep,  he  on  the  sidewalk,  bareheaded 
for  the  sake  of  coolness,  and  with  the  bandbox  on  his  arm. 
But  upon  this  last  speech  Harry,  who  was  unable  to  support 
such  point-blank  compliments  to  his  appearance,  nor  the  en- 
couraging look  with  which  they  were  accompanied,  began 
to  change  his  attitude,  and  glance  from  left  to  right  in  per- 
turbation. In  so  doing  he  turned  his  face  towards  the  lower 
end  of  the  lane,  and  there,  to  his  indescribable  dismay,  his 
eyes  encountered  those  of  General  Vandeleur.  The  General, 
in  a  prodigious  fluster  of  heat,  hurry,  and  indignation,  had 
been  scouring  the  streets  in  chase  of  his  brother-in-law;  but 
so  soon  as  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  delinquent  secretary 
his  purpose  changed,  his  anger  flowed  into  a  new  channel, 
and  he  turned  on  his  heel  and  came  tearing  up  the  lane  with 
truculent  gestures  and  vociferations. 

Harry  made  but  one  bolt  of  it  into  the  house,  driving  the 
maid  before  him;  and  the  door  was  slammed  in  his  pursuer's 
countenance. 

"Is  there  a  bar?  Will  it  lock?"  asked  Harry,  while  a 
salvo  on  the  knocker  made  the  house  echo  from  wall  to 
wall. 

"  Why,  what  is  wrong  with  you  ?  "  asked  the  maid.  *'  Is  it 
this  old  gentleman?  " 

"  If  he  gets  hold  of  me,"  whispered  Harry,  "  I  am  as  good 

94 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

as  dead.  He  has  been  pursuing'  me  all  day,  carries  a  sword- 
stick,  and  is  an  Indian  military  officer." 

"  These  are  fine  manners."  cried  the  maid.  "  And  what, 
if  3'ou  please,  may  be  his  name?  " 

"  Is  is  the  General,  my  master,"  answered  Harry.  "  He  is 
after  this  bandbox." 

"  Did  not  I  tell  you.''  "  cried  the  maid  in  triumph.  "  I 
told  you  I  thought  worse  than  nothing  of  your  Lady  Van- 
deleur;  and  if  you  had  an  eye  in  your  head  you  might  see 
what  she  is  for  3-ourself.  An  ungrateful  minx,  I  will  be 
bound  for  that !  " 

The  General  renewed  his  attack  upon  the  knocker,  and 
his  passion  growing  with  delay,  began  to  kick  and  beat  upon 
the  panels  of  the  door. 

"  It  is  lucky,"  observed  the  girl,  "  that  I  am  alone  In  the 
house;  your  General  may  hammer  until  he  is  weary,  and 
there  is  none  to  open  for  him.    Follow  me !  " 

So  saying  she  led  Harry  into  the  kitchen,  where  she  made 
him  sit  down,  and  stood  by  him  herself  in  an  affectionate 
attitude,  with  a  hand  upon  his  shoulder.  The  din  at  the 
door,  so  far  from  abating,  continued  to  increase  in  volume, 
and  at  each  blow  the  unhappy  secretary  was  shaken  to  the 
heart. 

"  AVhat  is  your  name?  "  asked  the  girl. 

**  Harry  Hartley,"  he  replied. 

"  Mine,"  she  went  on,  "  is  Prudence.     Do  you  like  it.^  " 

**  Very  much,"  said  Harry.  "  But  hear  for  a  moment 
how  the  General  beats  upon  the  door.  He  will  certainly 
break  it  in,  and  then,  in  Heaven's  name,  what  have  I  to  look 
for  but  death?  " 

"  You  put  yourself  very  much  about  with  no  occasion," 
answered  Prudence.  *'  Let  your  General  knock,  he  will  do 
no  more  than  blister  his  hands.  Do  you  think  I  would  keep 
you  here  if  I  were  not  sure  to  save  you?  Oh,  no,  I  am  a  good 
friend  to  those  that  please  me !  and  we  have  a  back  door  upon 
another  lane.  But,"  she  added,  checking  him,  for  he  had  got 
upon  his  feet  immediately  on  this  welcome  news,  "  but  I  will 
not  show  where  it  is  unless  you  kiss  me.    Will  you,  Harry?  " 

95 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  That  I  will,"  he  cried,  remembering  his  gallantry,  "  not 
for  your  back  door,  but  because  you  are  good  and  pretty." 

And  he  administered  two  or  three  cordial  salutes,  which 
were  returned  to  him  in  kind. 

Then  Prudence  led  him  to  the  back  gate,  and  put  her 
hand  upon  the  key. 

"  Will  you  come  and  see  me  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  will  indeed,"  said  Harry.  "  Do  not  I  owe  you  my 
life.?" 

"  And  now,"  she  added,  opening  the  door,  "  run  as  hard 
as  you  can,  for  I  shall  let  in  the  General." 

Harry  scarcely  required  this  advice ;  fear  had  him  by  the 
forelock;  and  he  addressed  himself  diligently  to  flight.  A 
few  steps,  and  he  believed  he  would  return  to  Lady  Van- 
deleur  in  honor  and  safety.  But  these  few  steps  had  not 
been  taken  before  he  heard  a  man's  voice,  hailing  him  by 
name  with  many  execrations,  and,  looking  over  his  shoulder, 
he  beheld  Charlie  Pendragon  waving  him  with  both  arms  to 
return.  The  shock  of  this  new  incident  was  so  sudden  and 
profound,  and  Harry  was  already  worked  into  so  high  a 
state  of  nervous  tension,  that  he  could  think  of  nothing  bet- 
ter than  to  accelerate  his  pace,  and  continue  running.  He 
should  certainly  have  remembered  the  scene  in  Kensington 
Gardens ;  he  should  certainly  have  concluded  that,  where  the 
General  was  his  enemy,  Charlie  Pendragon  could  be  no  other 
than  a  friend.  But  such  was  the  fever  and  perturbation  of 
his  mind  that  he  was  struck  by  none  of  these  considerations, 
and  only  continued  to  run  the  faster  up  the  lane. 

Charlie,  by  the  sound  of  his  voice  and  the  vile  terms  that 
he  hurled  after  the  secretary,  was  obviously  beside  himself 
with  rage.  He,  too,  ran  his  very  best ;  but,  try  as  he  might, 
the  physical  advantages  were  not  upon  his  side,  and  his  out- 
cries and  the  fall  of  his  lame  foot  on  the  macadam  began  to 
fall  farther  and  farther  into  the  wake. 

Harry's  hopes  began  once  more  to  arise.  The  lane  was 
both  steep  and  narrow,  but  it  was  exceedingly  solitary,  bor- 
dered on  either  hand  by  garden  walls,  overhung  with  foliage; 
and,  for  as  far  as  the  fugitive  could  see  in  front  of  him, 

96 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

there  was  neither  a  creature  moving  nor  an  open  door. 
Providence,  weary  of  persecution,  was  now  offering  him  an 
open  field  for  his  escape. 

Alas !  as  he  came  abreast  of  a  garden  door  under  a  tuft 
of  chestnuts,  it  was  suddenly  drawn  back,  and  he  could  see 
inside,  upon  a  garden  path,  the  figure  of  a  butcher's  boy 
with  his  tray  upon  his  arm.  He  had  hardly  recognized  the 
fact  before  he  was  some  steps  beyond  upon  the  other  side. 
But  the  fellow  had  had  time  to  observe  him ;  he  was  evidently 
much  surprised  to  see  a  gentleman  go  by  at  so  unusual  a 
pace;  and  he  came  out  into  the  lane  and  began  to  call  after 
Harry  with  shouts  of  ironical  encouragement. 

His  appearance  gave  a  new  idea  to  Charlie  Pendragon, 
who,  although  he  was  now  sadly  out  of  breath,  once  more 
upraised  his  voice. 

"Stop  thief!"  he  cried. 

And  immediately  the  butcher's  boy  had  taken  up  the  cry 
and  joined  in  the  pursuit. 

This  was  a  bitter  moment  for  the  hunted  secretary.  It 
is  true  that  his  terror  enabled  him  once  more  to  improve  his 
pace,  and  gain  with  every  step  on  his  pursuers ;  but  he  was 
well  aware  that  he  was  near  the  end  of  his  resources,  and 
should  he  meet  anyone  coming  the  other  way,  his  predica- 
ment in  the  narrow  lane  would  be  desperate  indeed. 

"  I  must  find  a  place  of  concealment,"  he  thought,  "  and 
that  within  the  next  few  seconds,  or  all  is  over  with  me  in 
this  world." 

Scarcely  had  the  thought  crossed  his  mind  than  the  lane 
took  a  sudden  turning ;  and  he  found  himself  hidden  from 
his  enemies.  There  are  circumstances  in  which  even  the  least 
energetic  of  mankind  learn  to  behave  with  vigor  and  decision ; 
and  the  more  cautious  forget  their  prudence  and  embrace 
foolhardy  resolutions.  This  was  one  of  those  occasions  for 
Harry  Hartley ;  and  those  who  knew  him  best  would  have 
been  the  most  astonished  at  the  lad's  audacity.  He  stopped 
dead,  flung  the  bandbox  over  a  garden  wall,  and  leaping  up- 
ward with  incredible  agility  and  seizing  the  copestone  with 
his  hands,  he  tumbled  headlong  after  it  into  the  garden. 

97 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

He  came  to  himself  a  moment  afterwards,  seated  in  a  bor- 
der of  small  rosebushes.  His  hands  and  knees  were  cut  and 
bleeding,  for  the  wall  had  been  protected  against  such  an 
escalade  by  a  liberal  provision  of  old  bottles ;  and  he  was  con- 
scious of  a  general  dislocation  and  a  painful  swimming  in  the 
head.  Facing  him  across  the  garden,  which  was  in  admirable 
order,  and  set  with  flowers  of  the  most  delicious  perfume,  he 
beheld  the  back  of  a  house.  It  was  of  considerable  extent, 
and  plainly  habitable ;  but,  in  odd  contrast  to  the  grounds,  it 
was  crazy,  ill-kept,  and  of  a  mean  appearance.  On  all  other 
sides  the  circuit  of  the  garden  wall  appeared  unbroken. 

He  took  in  these  features  of  the  scene  with  mechanical 
glances,  but  his  mind  was  still  unable  to  piece  together  or 
draw  a  rational  conclusion  from  what  he  saw.  And  when 
he  heard  footsteps  advancing  on  the  gravel,  although  he 
turned  his  eyes  in  that  direction,  it  was  with  no  thought 
either  for  defense  or  flight. 

The  newcomer  was  a  large,  coarse,  and  very  sordid  per- 
sonage, in  gardening  clothes,  and  with  a  watering-pot  in 
his  left  hand.  One  less  confused  would  have  been  aff'ected 
with  some  alarm  at  the  sight  of  this  man's  huge  proportions 
and  black  and  lowering  eyes.  But  Harry  was  too  gravely 
shaken  by  his  fall  to  be  so  much  as  terrified;  and  if  he  was 
unable  to  divert  his  glances  from  the  gardener,  he  remained 
absolutely  passive,  and  suff'ered  him  to  draw  near,  to  take 
him  by  the  shoulder,  and  to  plant  him  roughly  on  his  feet, 
without  a  motion  of  resistance. 

For  a  moment  the  two  stared  into  each  other's  eye, 
Harry  fascinated,  the  man  filled  with  wrath  and  a  cruel, 
sneering  humor. 

"Who  are  you.'"'  he  demanded  at  last.  "Who  are  you 
to  come  flying  over  my  wall  and  break  my  Gloire  de  Dijons? 
What  is  your  name?"  he  added,  shaking  him;  "and  what 
may  be  your  business  here.?  " 

Harry  could  not  as  much  as  proflper  a  word  in  explana- 
tion. 

But  just  at  that  moment  Pendragon  and  the  butcher's 
boy  went  clumping  past,  and  the  sound  of  their  feet  and 

9^ 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

their  hoarse  cries  echoed  loudly  in  the  narrow  lane.  The 
gardener  had  received  his  answer;  and  he  looked  down  into 
Harry's  face  with  an  obnoxious  smile. 

"  A  thief ! "  he  said.  "  Upon  my  word,  and  a  very  good 
thing  you  must  make  of  it ;  for  I  see  you  dressed  like  a  gen- 
tleman from  top  to  toe.  Are  you  not  ashamed  to  go  about 
the  world  in  such  a  trim,  with  honest  folk,  I  dare  say,  glad 
to  buy  your  cast-off  finery  second-hand?  Speak  up,  you 
dog,"  the  man  went  on ;  "  you  can  understand  English,  I 
suppose ;  and  I  mean  to  have  a  bit  of  talk  with  you  before 
I  march  you  to  the  station." 

"  Indeed,  sir,"  said  Harry,  "  this  is  all  a  dreadful  mis- 
conception ;  and  if  you  will  go  with  me  to  Sir  Thomas  Van- 
deleur's  in  Eaton  Place,  I  can  promise  that  all  will  be  made 
plain.  The  most  upright  person,  as  I  now  perceive,  can  be 
led  into  suspicious  positions." 

"  My  little  man,"  replied  the  gardener,  **  I  will  go  with 
you  no  farther  than  the  station-house  in  the  next  street. 
The  inspector,  no  doubt,  will  be  glad  to  take  a  stroll  with 
you  as  far  as  Eaton  Place,  and  have  a  bit  of  afternoon  tea 
with  your  great  acquaintances.  Or  would  you  prefer  to  go 
direct  to  the  Home  Secretary.?  Sir  Thomas  Vandeleur,  in- 
deed! Perhaps  you  think  I  don't  know  a  gentleman  when  I 
see  one,  from  a  common  run-the-hedge  like  you.''  Clothes 
or  no  clothes,  I  can  read  you  like  a  book.  Here  is  a  shirt 
that  maybe  cost  as  much  as  my  Sunday  hat;  and  that  coat, 
I  take  it,  has  never  seen  the  inside  of  Rag-fair,  and  then 
your  boots " 

The  man,  whose  eyes  had  fallen  upon  the  ground,  stopped 
short  in  his  insulting  commentary,  and  remained  for  a  mo- 
ment looking  intently  upon  something  at  his  feet.  When 
he  spoke  his  voice  was  strangely  altered. 

"  What,  in  God's  name,"  said  he,  "  is  all  this?  " 

Harry,  following  the  direction  of  the  man's  eyes,  beheld 
a  spectacle  that  struck  him  dumb  with  terror  and  amaze- 
ment. In  his  fall  he  had  descended  vertically  upon  the  band- 
box and  burst  it  open  from  end  to  end ;  thence  a  great  treas- 
ure of  diamonds  had  poured  forth,  and  now  lay  abroad,  part 

99 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

trodden  In  ths  soil,  part  scattered  on  the  surface  In  regal  and 
glittering  profusion.  There  was  a  magnificent  coronet  which 
he  had  often  admired  on  Lady  Vandeleur;  there  were  rings 
and  brooches,  ear-drops  and  bracelets,  and  even  unset  bril- 
liants rolling  here  and  there  among  the  rosebushes  like  drops 
of  morning  dew.  A  princely  fortune  lay  between  the  two 
men  upon  the  ground — a  fortune  in  the  most  Inviting,  solid, 
and  durable  fonn,  capable  of  being  carried  In  an  apron, 
beautiful  in  Itself,  and  scattering  the  sunlight  in  a  million 
rainbow  flashes. 

"  Good  God!  "  said  Harry,  "  I  am  lost!" 

His  mind  raced  backward  Into  the  past  with  the  incalcu- 
lable velocity  of  thought,  and  he  began  to  comprehend  his 
day's  adventures,  to  conceive  them  as  a  whole,  and  to  recog- 
nize the  sad  imbroglio  in  which  his  own  character  and  for- 
tunes had  become  involved.  He  looked  round  him,  as  if  for 
help,  but  he  was  alone  In  the  garden,  with  his  scattered  dia- 
monds and  his  redoubtable  interlocutor;  and  when  he  gave 
ear,  there  was  no  sound  but  the  rustle  of  the  leaves  and  the 
hurried  pulsation  of  his  heart.  It  was  little  wonder  If  the 
young  man  felt  himself  a  iittle  deserted  by  his  spirits,  and 
with  a  broken  voice  repeated  his  last  ejaculation — 

"  I  am  lost !  " 

The  gardener  peered  In  all  ctlrectlons  with  an  air  of  guilt ; 
but  there  was  no  face  at  any  of  the  windows,  and  he  seemed 
to  breathe  again. 

"  Pick  up  a  heart,'*  he  said,  "  you  fool !  The  worst  of  It 
is  done.  Why  could  you  not  say  at  first  there  was  enough 
for  two.^*  Two!"  he  repeated,  "  a3"e,  and  for  two  hundred! 
But  come  away  from  here,  where  we  may  be  observed ;  and, 
for  the  love  of  wisdom,  straighten  out  your  hat  and  brush 
your  clothes.  You  could  not  travel  two  steps  the  figure  of 
fun  you  look  just  now." 

While  Harry  mechanically  adopted  these  suggestions,  the 
gardener,  getting  Upon  his  knees,  hastily  drew  together  the 
scattered  jewels  and  returned  them  to  the  bandbox.  The 
touch  of  these  costly  crystals  sent  a  shiver  of  emotion 
through  the  man's  stalwart  frame ;  his  face  was  transfigured, 

100 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

and  his  eyes  shone  with  concupiscence ;  indeed  it  seemed  as  if 
he  luxuriously  prolonged  his  occupation,  and  dallied  with 
every  diamond  that  he  handled.  At  last,  however,  it  was 
done ;  and,  concealing  the  bandbox  in  his  smock,  the  gar- 
dener beckoned  to  Harry  and  preceded  him  in  the  direction 
of  the  house. 

Near  the  door  they  were  met  by  a  joung  man  evidently 
in  holy  orders,  dark  and  strikingly  handsome,  with  a  look  of 
mingled  weakness  and  resolution,  and  very  neatly  attired 
after  the  manner  of  his  caste.  The  gardener  was  plainly 
annoyed  by  this  encounter;  but  he  put  as  good  a  face  upon 
it  as  he  could,  and  accosted  the  clergyman  with  an  obsequious 
and  smiling  air. 

"Here  is  a  fine  afternoon,  Mr.  Rolles,"  said  he:  "a  fine 
afternoon,  as  sure  as  God  made  it !  And  here  is  a  young 
friend  of  mine  who  had  a  fancy  to  look  at  my  roses.  I 
took  the  liberty  to  bring  him  in,  for  I  thought  none  of  the 
lodgers  would  object." 

"  Speaking  for  myself,"  replied  the  Reverend  Mr.  Rolles, 
"  I  do  not ;  nor  do  I  fancy  any  of  the  rest  of  us  would  be 
more  difficult  upon  so  small  a  matter.  The  garden  is  your 
own,  Mr.  Raeburn ;  we  must  none  of  us  forget  that ;  and 
because  you  give  us  liberty  to  walk  there  we  should  be  indeed 
ungracious  if  we  so  far  presumed  upon  your  politeness  as 
to  interfere  with  the  convenience  of  your  friends.  But,  on 
second  thoughts,"  he  added,  "  I  believe  that  this  gentleman 
and  I  have  met  before.  Mr.  Hartley,  I  think.  I  regret  to 
observe  that  you  have  had  a  fall." 

And  he  offered  his  hand. 

A  sort  of  maiden  dignity  and  a  desire  to  delay  as  long 
as  possible  the  necessity  for  explanation  moved  Harry  to 
refuse  this  chance  of  help,  and  to  deny  his  own  identity.  He 
chose  the  tender  mercies  of  the  gardener,  who  was  at  least 
unknown  to  him,  rather  than  the  curiosity  and  perhaps  the 
doubts  of  an  acquaintance. 

"  I  fear  there  is  some  mistake,"  said  he.  "  My  name  is 
Thomlinson  and  I  am  a  friend  of  Mr.  Raebum's." 

"  Indeed.''  "  said  Mr.  Rolles.     "  The  likeness  is  amazing." 


101 


UNIVEFSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  BARBARA  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Mr.  Raebum,  who  had  been  upon  thorns  throughout  this 
colloquy,  now  felt  it  high  time  to  bring  it  to  a  period. 

"  I  wish  you  a  pleasant  saunter,  sir,"  said  he. 

And  with  that  he  dragged  Harry  after  him  into  the 
house,  and  then  into  a  chamber  on  the  garden.  His  first 
care  was  to  draw  down  the  blind,  for  Mr.  Rolles  still  re- 
mained where  they  had  left  him,  in  an  attitude  of  perplexity 
and  thought.  Then  he  emptied  the  broken  bandbox  on  the 
table,  and  stood  before  the  treasure,  thus  fully  displayed, 
with  an  expression  of  rapturous  greed,  and  rubbing  his 
hands  upon  his  thighs.  For  Harry,  the  sight  of  the  man's 
face  under  the  influence  of  this  base  emotion,  added  another 
pang  to  those  he  was  already  suffering.  It  seemed  incred- 
ible that,  from  his  life  of  pure  and  delicate  trifling,  he  should 
be  plunged  in  a  breath  among  sordid  and  criminal  relations. 
He  could  reproach  his  conscience  with  no  sinful  act;  and  yet 
he  was  now  suffering  the  punishment  of  sin  in  its  most  acute 
and  cruel  forms — the  dread  of  punishment,  the  suspicions 
of  the  good,  and  the  companionship  and  contamination  of 
vile  and  brutal  natures.  He  felt  he  could  lay  his  life  down 
with  gladness  to  escape  from  the  room  and  the  society  of 
Mr.  Raeburn. 

"  And  now,"  said  the  latter,  after  he  had  separated  the 
jewels  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  and  drawn  one  of  them 
nearer  to  himself;  "  and  now,"  said  he,  "  everything  in  this 
world  has  to  be  paid  for,  and  some  things  sweetly.  You 
must  know,  Mr.  Hartley,  if  such  be  your  name,  that  I  am 
a  man  of  a  very  easy  temper,  and  good  nature  has  been  my 
stumbling  block  from  first  to  last.  I  could  pocket  the  whole 
of  these  pretty  pebbles,  if  I  chose,  and  I  should  like  to  see 
you  dare  to  say  a  word;  but  I  think  I  must  have  taken  a 
liking  to  you;  for  I  declare  I  have  not  the  heart  to  shave 
you  so  close.  So,  do  you  see,  in  pure  kind  feeling,  I  propose 
that  we  divide ;  and  these,"  indicating  the  two  heaps,  "  are 
the  proportions  that  seem  to  me  just  and  friendly.  Do  you 
see  any  objection,  Mr.  Hartley,  may  I  ask?  I  am  not  the 
man  to  stick  upon  a  brooch." 

"  But,  sir,"  cried  Harry,  "  what  you  propose  to  me  is 

102 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

impossible.  The  jewels  are  not  mine,  and  I  cannot  share 
what  is  another's,  no  matter  with  whom,  nor  in  what  propor- 
tions." 

"They  are  not  yours,  are  they  not?  "  returned  Raebum. 
"  And  you  could  not  share  them  with  anybody,  couldn't  you? 
Well  now,  that  is  what  I  call  a  pity ;  for  here  I  am  obliged 
to  take  you  to  the  station.  The  police — think  of  that,"  he 
continued ;  "  think  of  the  disgrace  for  your  respectable  par- 
ents; think,"  he  went  on,  taking  Harry  by  the  wrist;  think 
of  the  Colonies  and  the  Day  of  Judgment." 

"  I  cannot  help  it,"  wailed  Harry.  "  It  is  not  my  fault. 
You  will  not  come  with  me  to  Eaton  Place." 

"  No,"  replied  the  man,  "  I  will  not,  that  is  certain.  And 
I  mean  to  divide  these  playthings  with  you  here." 

And  so  saying  he  applied  a  sudden  and  severe  torsion  to 
the  lad's  wrist. 

Harry  could  not  suppress  a  scream,  and  the  perspiration 
burst  forth  upon  his  face.  Perhaps  pain  and  terror  quick- 
ened his  intelligence,  but  certainly  at  that  moment  the  whole 
business  flashed  across  him  in  another  light ;  and  he  saw  that 
there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  accede  to  the  ruffian's  pro- 
posal, and  trust  to  find  the  house  and  force  him  to  disgorge, 
under  more  favorable  circumstances,  and  when  he  himself 
was  clear  from  all  suspicion. 

"  I  agree,"  he  said. 

"  There  is  a  lamb,"  sneered  the  gardener.  "  I  thought 
you  would  recognize  your  interests  at  last.  This  bandbox," 
he  continued,  "  I  shall  burn  with  my  rubbish ;  it  is  a  thing 
that  curious  folk  might  recognize ;  and  as  for  you,  scrape  up 
your  gaieties  and  put  them  in  your  pocket." 

Harry  proceeded  to  obey,  Raebum  watching  him,  and 
every  now  and  again,  his  greed  rekindled  by  some  bright 
scintillation,  abstracting  another  jewel  from  the  secretary's 
share,  and  adding  it  to  his  own. 

When  this  was  finished,  both  proceeded  to  the  front  door, 
which  Raebum  cautiously  opened  to  observe  the  street.  This 
was  apparently  clear  of  passengers ;  for  he  suddenly  seized 
Harry  by  the  nape  of  the  neck,  and  holding  his  face  down- 

lOS 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

ward  so  that  he  could  see  nothing  but  the  roadway  and  the 
doorsteps  of  the  houses,  pushed  him  violently  before  him 
down  one  street  and  up  another  for  the  space  of  perhaps  a 
minute  and  a  half.  Harry  had  counted  three  corners  before 
the  bully  relaxed  his  grasp,  and  crying,  "  Now  be  off  with 
you !  "  sent  the  lad  flying  headforemost  with  a  well-directed 
and  athletic  kick. 

When  Harry  gathered  himself  up,  half-stunned  and 
bleeding  freely  at  the  nose,  Mr.  Raebum  had  entirely  dis- 
appeared. For  the  first  time,  anger  and  pain  so  completely 
overcame  the  lad's  spirits  that  he  burst  into  a  fit  of  tears 
and  remained  sobbing  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 

After  he  had  thus  somewhat  assuaged  his  emotion,  he 
began  to  look  about  him  and  read  the  names  of  the  streets 
at  whose  intersection  he  had  been  deserted  by  the  gardener. 
He  was  still  in  an  unfrequented  portion  of  West  London, 
among  villas  and  large  gardens ;  but  he  could  see  some  per- 
sons at  a  window  who  had  evidently  witnessed  his  misfor- 
tune; and  almost  immediately  after  a  servant  came  running 
from  the  house  and  offered  him  a  glass  of  water.  At  the 
same  time,  a  dirty  rogue,  who  had  been  slouching  somewhere 
in  the  neighborhood,  drew  near  him  from  the  other  side. 

*'  Poor  fellow,"  said  the  maid,  "  how  vilely  you  have  been 
handled,  to  be  sure !  Why,  your  knees  are  all  cut,  and  your 
clothes  ruined !    Do  you  know  the  wretch  who  used  you  so  ?  " 

"  That  I  do ! "  cried  Harry,  who  was  somewhat  refreshed 
by  the  water ;  "  and  shall  run  him  home  in  spite  of  his  pre- 
cautions. He  shall  pay  dearly  for  this  day's  work,  I  promise 
you." 

"  You  had  better  come  into  the  house  and  have  yourself 
washed  and  brushed,"  continued  the  maid.  "  My  mistress 
will  make  you  welcome,  never  fear.  And  see,  I  will  pick  up 
your  hat.  WTiy,  love  of  mercy ! "  she  screamed,  "  if  you 
have  not  dropped  diamonds  all  over  the  street  t " 

Such  was  the  case;  a  good  half  of  what  remained  to  him 
after  the  depredations  of  Mr.  Raeburn,  had  been  shaken  out 
of  his  pockets  by  the  summersault,  and  once  more  lay  glitter- 
ing on  the  ground.     He  blessed  his  fortune  that  the  maid 

104 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

had  been  so  quick  of  eye ;  "  there  is  nothing  so  bad  but  it 
might  be  worse,"  thought  he;  and  the  recovery  of  these  few 
seemed  to  him  almost  as  great  an  affair  as  the  loss  of  all  the 
rest.  But,  alas !  as  he  stooped  to  pick  up  his  treasures  the 
loiterer  made  a  rapid  onslaught,  overset  both  Harry  and 
the  maid  with  a  movement  of  his  arms,  swept  up  a  double 
handful  of  the  diamonds,  and  made  off  along  the  street  with 
an  amazing  swiftness. 

Harry,  as  soon  as  he  could  get  upon  his  feet,  gave  chase 
to  the  miscreant  with  many  cries,  but  the  latter  was  too  fleet 
of  foot,  and  probably  too  well  acquainted  with  the  locality; 
for  turn  where  the  pursuer  would  he  could  find  no  traces  of 
the  fugitive. 

In  the  deepest  despondency  Harry  revisited  the  scene  of 
his  mishap,  where  the  maid,  who  was  still  waiting,  very 
honestly  returned  him  his  hat  and  the  remainder  of  the  fallen 
diamonds.  Harry  thanked  her  from  his  heart,  and  being 
now  in  no  humor  for  economy,  made  his  way  to  the  nearest 
cabstand  and  set  off  for  Eaton  Place  by  coach. 

The  house,  on  his  arrival,  seemed  in  some  confusion,  as 
if  a  catastrophe  had  happened  in  the  family;  and  the  serv- 
ants clustered  together  in  the  hall,  and  were  unable,  or 
perhaps  not  altogether  anxious,  to  suppress  their  merriment 
at  the  tatterdemalion  figure  of  the  secretary.  He  passed 
them  with  as  good  an  air  of  dignity  as  he  could  assume,  and 
made  directly  for  the  boudoir.  When  he  opened  the  door  an 
astonishing  and  even  menacing  spectacle  presented  itself  to 
his  eyes ;  for  he  beheld  the  General  and  his  wife  and,  of  all 
people,  Charlie  Pendragon,  closeted  together  and  speaking 
with  earnestness  and  gravity  on  some  important  subject. 
Harry  saw  at  once  that  there  was  little  left  for  him  to  ex- 
plain— plenary  confession  had  plainly  been  made  to  the 
General  of  the  intended  fraud  upon  his  pocket,  and  the  un- 
fortunate miscarriage  of  the  scheme;  and  they  had  all  made 
common  cause  against  a  common  danger. 

"  Thank  Heaven !  "  cried  Lady  Vandeleur,  "  here  he  is ! 
The  bandbox,  Harry — ^thc  bandbox !  " 

But  Harry  stood  before  them  silent  and  downcast. 

105 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  Speak ! "  she  cried.  "  Speak !  Where  is  the  band- 
box?" 

And  the  men,  with  threatening  gestures,  repeated  the 
demand. 

Harry  drew  a  handful  of  j  ewels  from  his  pocket.  He  was 
very  white. 

"  This  is  all  that  remains,"  said  he.  "  I  declare  before 
Heaven  it  was  through  no  fault  of  mine;  and  if  you  will 
have  patience,  although  some  are  lost,  I  am  afraid,  for  ever, 
others,  I  am  sure,  may  be  still  recovered !  " 

"  Alas ! "  cried  Lady  Vandeleur,  "  aU  our  diamonds  are 
gone,  and  I  owe  ninety  thousand  pounds  for  dress !  " 

"  Madam,"  said  the  General,  "  you  might  have  paved  the 
gutter  with  your  own  trash;  you  might  have  made  debts  to 
fifty  times  the  sum  you  mention ;  you  might  have  robbed  me 
of  my  mother's  coronet  and  rings ;  and  Nature  might  have 
still  so  far  prevailed  that  I  could  have  forgiven  you  at  last. 
But,  madam,  you  have  taken  the  Rajah's  Diamond — the  Eye 
of  Light,  as  the  Orientals  poetically  termed  it — the  Pride  of 
Kashgar!  You  have  taken  from  me  the  Rajah's  Diamond," 
he  cried,  raising  his  hands,  "  and  all,  madam,  all  is  at  an 
end  between  us  !  " 

"  Believe  me,  General  Vandeleur,"  she  replied,  "  that  is 
one  of  the  most  agreeable  speeches  that  ever  I  heard  from 
your  lips ;  and  since  we  are  to  be  ruined  I  could  almost  wel- 
come the  change,  if  it  delivers  me  from  you.  You  have  told 
me  often  enough  that  I  married  you  for  your  money ;  let  me 
tell  you  now  that  I  always  bitterly  repented  the  bargain ; 
and  if  you  were  still  marriageable,  and  had  a  diamond  bigger 
than  your  head,  I  should  counsel  even  my  maid  against  a 
union  so  uninviting  and  disastrous.  As  for  you,  Mr.  Hart- 
ley," she  continued,  turning  on  the  secretary,  "  you  have 
sufficiently  exhibited  your  valuable  qualities  in  this  house; 
we  are  now  persuaded  that  you  equally  lack  manhood,  sense 
and  self-respect;  and  I  can  see  only  one  course  open  for 
you — to  withdraw  instanter,  and,  if  possible,  return  no 
more.  For  your  wages  you  may  rank  as  a  creditor  in  my 
late  husband's  bankruptcy." 

lOd 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

Harry  had  scarcely  comprehended  this  insulting  address 
before  the  General  was  down  upon  him  with  another. 

"  And  in  the  meantime,"  said  that  personage,  "  follow 
me  before  the  nearest  Inspector  of  Police.  You  may  impose 
upon  a  simple-minded  soldier,  sir,  but  the  eye  of  the  law 
will  read  your  disreputable  secret.  If  I  must  spend  my  old 
age  in  poverty  through  your  underhand  intriguing  with  my 
wife,  I  mean  at  least  that  you  shall  not  remain  unpunished 
for  your  pains ;  and  God,  sir,  will  deny  me  a  very  consider- 
able satisfaction  if  you  do  not  pick  oakum  from  now  until 
your  dying  day." 

With  that  the  General  dragged  Harry  from  the  apart- 
ment, and  hurried  him  downstairs  and  along  the  street  to 
the  police  station  of  the  district. 

{Here,  says  my  Arabian  author,  ended  this  deplorable  bus- 
iness of  the  bandbox.  But  to  the  unfortunate  Secretary  the 
whole  affair  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  manlier  life. 
The  police  were  easily  persuaded  of  his  innocence;  and,  after 
he  had  given  what  help  he  could  in  the  subsequent  investiga- 
tions, he  was  even  complimented  by  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
detective  department  on  the  probity  and  simplicity  of  his 
behavior.  Several  persons  interested  themselves  in  one  so 
unfortunate;  and  soon  after  he  inherited  a  sum  of  money 
from  a  maiden  aunt  in  Worcestershire.  With  this  he  married 
Prudence,  and  set  sail  for  Bendigo,  or  according  to  another 
account,  for  Trincomalee,  exceedingly  content,  and  with  the 
best  of  prospects.) 


107 


STOEY  OF  THE  YOUNG  MAN  IN  HOLY  ORDERS 

THE  Reverend  Mr.  Simon  Rolles  had  distinguished  him- 
self in  the  IMoral  Sciences,  and  was  more  than  usually 
proficient  in  the  study  of  Divinity.  His  essay  "  On  the 
Christian  Doctrine  of  the  Social  Obligations  "  obtained  for 
him  at  the  moment  of  its  production,  a  certain  celebrity  in 
the  University  of  Oxford;  and  it  was  understood  in  clerical 
and  learned  circles  that  young  Mr.  Rolles  had  in  contempla- 
tion a  considerable  work — a  folio,  it  was  said — on  the  au- 
thority of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church.  These  attainments, 
these  ambitious  designs,  however,  were  far  from  helping  him 
to  any  preferment;  and  still  he  was  in  quest  of  his  first 
curacy  when  a  chance  ramble  in  that  part  of  London,  the 
peaceful  and  rich  aspect  of  the  garden,  a  desire  for  sohtude 
and  study,  and  the  cheapness  of  the  lodging,  led  him  to  take 
up  his  abode  with  Mr.  Raeburn,  the  nurseryman  of  Stock- 
dove Lane. 

It  was  his  habit  every  afternoon,  after  he  had  worked 
seven  or  eight  hours  on  St.  Ambrose  or  St.  Chrysostom,  to 
walk  for  a  while  in  meditation  among  the  roses.  And  this 
was  usually  one  of  the  most  productive  moments  of  his  day. 
But  even  a  sincere  appetite  for  thought,  and  the  excitement 
of  grave  problems  awaiting  solution,  are  not  always  sufficient 
to  preserve  the  mind  of  the  philosopher  against  the  petty 
shocks  and  contacts  of  the  world.  And  when  Mr.  Rolles 
found  General  Yandeleur's  secretary,  ragged  and  bleeding,  in 
the  company  of  the  landlord ;  when  he  saw  both  change  color 
and  seek  to  avoid  his  questions ;  and,  above  all,  when  the 
former  denied  his  own  Identity  with  the  most  unmoved  assur- 
ance, he  speedily  forgot  the  Saints  and  Fathers  In  the  vul- 
gar interest  of  curiosity. 

"  I  cannot  be  mistaken,"  thought  he.  "  That  is  Mr. 
Hartley  beyond  a  doubt.     How  comes  he  in  such  a  pickle.'^ 

108 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

why  does  he  deny  his  name?  and  what  can  be  his  business 
with  that  black-looking  ruffian,  my  landlord  ?  " 

As  he  was  thus  reflecting,  another  peculiar  circumstance 
attracted  his  attention.  The  face  of  Mr.  Raeburn  appeared 
at  a  low  window  next  the  door ;  and,  as  chance  directed,  his 
eyes  met  those  of  Mr.  Rolles.  The  nurseryman  seemed  dis- 
concerted, and  even  alarmed ;  and  immediately  after  the 
blind  of  the  apartment  was  pulled  sharply  down. 

"  This  may  all  be  very  well,"  reflected  Mr.  Rolles ;  "  it 
may  be  all  excellently  well ;  but  I  confess  freely  that  I  do  not 
think  so.  Suspicious,  underhand,  untruthful,  fearful  of 
observation — I  beheve  upon  my  soul,"  he  thought,  "  the  pair 
are  plotting  some  disgraceful  action." 

The  detective  that  there  is  in  all  of  us  awoke  and  became 
clamant  in  the  bosom  of  IVIr.  Rolles ;  and  with  a  brisk,  eager 
step,  that  bore  no  resemblance  to  his  usual  gait,  he  proceeded 
to  make  the  circuit  of  the  garden.  When  he  came  to  the 
scene  of  Harry's  escalade,  his  eye  was  at  once  arrested  by  a 
broken  rosebud  and  marks  of  trampling  on  the  mole.  He 
looked  up,  and  saw  scratches  on  the  brick,  and  a  rag  of 
trouser  floating  from  a  broken  bottle.  This,  then,  was  the 
mode  of  entrance  chosen  by  ]Mr.  Raeburn's  particular  friend ! 
It  was  thus  that  General  Vandeleur's  secretary  came  to  ad- 
mire a  flower  garden !  The  young  clergyman  whistled  softly 
to  himself  as  he  stooped  to  examine  the  ground.  He  could 
make  out  where  Harry  had  landed  from  his  perilous  leap ;  he 
recognized  the  flat  foot  of  Mr.  Raeburn  where  it  had  sunk 
deeply  in  the  soil  as  he  pulled  up  the  Secretary  by  the  collar; 
nay,  on  a  closer  inspection,  he  seemed  to  distinguish  the 
marks  of  groping  fingers,  as  though  something  had  been 
spilt  abroad  and  eagerly  collected. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  he  thought,  "  the  thing  grows  vastly 
interesting." 

And  just  then  he  caught  sight  of  something  almost  en- 
tirely buried  in  the  earth.  In  an  instant  he  had  disinterred 
a  dainty  morocco  case,  ornamented  and  clasped  in  gilt.  It 
had  been  trodden  heavily  under  foot,  and  thus  escaped  the 
hurried  search  of  Mr.  Raeburn.    Mr.  Rolles  opened  the  case, 

109 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

and  drew  a  long  breath  of  almost  horrified  astonishment ;  for 
there  lay  before  him,  in  a  cradle  of  green  velvet,  a  diamond 
of  prodigious  magnitude  and  of  the  finest  water.  It  was  of 
the  bigness  of  a  duck's  egg ;  beautifully  shaped,  and  without 
a  flaw;  and  as  the  sun  shone  upon  it,  it  gave  forth  a  lustre 
like  that  of  electricity,  and  seemed  to  burn  in  his  hand  with 
a  thousand  internal  fires. 

He  knew  little  of  precious  stones;  but  the  Rajah's  Dia- 
mond was  a  wonder  that  explained  itself;  a  village  child,  if 
he  found  it,  would  run  screaming  for  the  nearest  cottage ; 
and  a  savage  would  prostrate  himself  in  adoration  before  so 
imposing  a  fetish.  The  beauty  of  the  stone  flattered  the 
young  clergyman's  eyes ;  the  thought  of  its  incalculable 
value  overpowered  his  intellect.  He  knew  that  what  he  held 
in  his  hand  was  worth  more  than  many  years'  purchase  of  an 
archiepiscopal  see;  that  it  would  build  cathedrals  more 
stately  than  Ely  or  Cologne;  that  he  who  possessed  it  was 
set  free  for  ever  from  the  primal  curse,  and  might  follow  his 
own  inclinations  without  concern  or  hurry,  without  let  or 
hindrance.  And  as  he  suddenly  turned  it,  the  rays  leaped 
forth  again  with  renewed  brilliancy,  and  seemed  to  pierce  his 
very  heart. 

Decisive  actions  are  often  taken  in  a  moment  and  without 
any  conscious  deliverance  from  the  rational  parts  of  man. 
So  it  was  now  with  Mr.  Rolles.  He  glanced  hurriedly  round ; 
beheld,  like  Mr.  Raeburn  before  him,  nothing  but  the  sunlit 
flower  garden,  the  tall  tree-tops,  and  the  house  with  bhnded 
windows ;  and  in  a  trice  he  had  shut  the  case,  thrust  it  into 
his  pocket,  and  was  hastening  to  his  study  with  the  speed 
of  guilt. 

The  Reverend  Simon  Rolles  had  stolen  the  Rajah's 
Diamond. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  the  police  arrived  with  Harry 
Hartley.  The  nurseryman,  who  was  beside  himself  with 
terror,  readily  discovered  his  hoard;  and  the  jewels  were 
identified  and  inventoried  in  the  presence  of  the  Secretary. 
As  for  Mr.  Rolles,  he  showed  himself  in  a  most  obliging  tem- 
per, communicated  what  he  knew  with  freedom,  and  pro- 

110 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIA3I0ND 

fessed  regret  that  he  could  do  no  more  to  help  the  officers 
in  their  duty. 

"  Still,"  he  added,  "  I  suppose  jour  business  is  nearly  at 
an  end." 

"By  no  means,"  replied  the  man  from  Scotland  Yard; 
and  he  narrated  the  second  robbery  of  which  Harry  had 
been  the  immediate  victim,  and  gave  the  young  clergyman 
a  description  of  the  more  important  jewels  that  were  still  not 
found,  dilating  particularly  on  the  Rajah's  Diamond. 

"  It  must  be  worth  a  fortune,"  observed  Mr.  Rolles. 

*'  Ten  fortunes — twenty  fortunes,"  cried  the  officer. 

"  The  more  it  is  worth,"  remarked  Simon  shrewdly,  "  the 
more  difficult  it  must  be  to  sell.  Such  a  thing  has  a  physiog- 
nomy not  to  be  disguised,  and  I  should  fancy  a  man  might 
as  easily  negotiate  St.  Paul's  Cathedral."    ■ 

"  Oh,  truly ! "  said  the  officer ;  "  but  if  the  thief  be  a  man 
of  any  intelligence,  he  will  cut  it  into  three  or  four,  and 
there  will  be  still  enough  to  make  him  rich." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  the  clergyman.  "  You  cannot  im- 
agine how  much  your  conversation  interests  me." 

Whereupon  the  functionary  admitted  that  they  knew  many 
strange  things  in  his  profession,  and  immediately  after  took 
his  leave. 

Mr.  Rolles  regained  his  apartm.ent.  It  seemed  smaller 
and  barer  than  usual;  the  materials  for  his  great  work  had 
never  presented  so  little  interest;  and  he  looked  upon  his 
library  with  the  eye  of  scorn.  He  took  down,  volume  by 
volume,  several  Fathers  of  the  Church,  and  glanced  them 
through;  but  they  contained  nothing  to  his  purpose. 

"  These  old  gentlemen,"  thought  he,  "  are  no  doubt  very 
valuable  writers,  but  they  seem  to  me  conspicuously  ignorant 
of  Hfe.  Here  am  I,  with  learning  enough  to  be  a  Bishop, 
and  I  positively  do  not  know  how  to  dispose  of  a  stolen 
diamond.  I  glean  a  hint  from  a  common  policeman,  and, 
with  all  my  folios,  I  cannot  so  much  as  put  it  into  execution. 
This  inspires  me  with  very  low  ideas  of  University  training." 

Herewith  he  kicked  over  his  book-shelf  and,  putting  on  his 
hat,  hastened  from  the  house  to  the  club  of  wliich  he  was  a 

111 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

membero  In  such  a  place  of  mundane  resort  he  hoped  to 
find  some  man  of  good  counsel  and  a  shrewd  experience  in 
life.  In  the  reading-room  he  saw  many  of  the  country  clergy 
and  an  Archdeacon;  there  were  three  journalists  and  a  writer 
upon  the  Higher  INIetaphysics,  playing  pool;  and  at  dinner 
only  the  raff  of  ordinary  club  frequenters  showed  their  com- 
monplace and  obhterated  countenances.  None  of  these, 
thought  Mr.  Rolles,  would  know  more  on  dangerous  topics 
than  he  knew  himself;  none  of  them  were  fit  to  give  him 
guidance  in  his  present  strait.  At  length,  in  the  smoking- 
room,  up  many  weary  stairs,  he  hit  upon  a  gentleman  of 
somewhat  portly  build  and  dressed  with  conspicuous  plain- 
ness. He  was  smoking  a  cigar  and  reading  the  Fortnightly 
Review;  his  face  was  singularly  free  from  all  sign  of  pre- 
occupation or  fatigue;  and  there  was  something  in  his  air 
which  seemed  to  invite  confidence  and  to  expect  submission. 
The  more  the  young  clergyman  scrutinized  his  features,  the 
more  he  was  convinced  that  he  had  fallen  on  one  capable  of 
giving  pertinent  advice. 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  "  you  will  excuse  my  abruptness ;  but  I 
judge  you  from  your  appearance  to  be  preeminently  a  man 
of  the  world." 

*'  I  have  indeed  considerable  claims  to  that  distinction," 
replied  the  stranger,  laying  aside  his  magazine  with  a  look 
of  mingled  amusement  and  surprise. 

"  I,  sir,"  continued  the  Curate,  "  am  a  recluse,  a  student, 
a  creature  of  ink-bottles  and  patristic  folios.  A  recent  event 
has  brought  my  folly  vividly  before  my  eyes,  and  I  desire  to 
instruct  myself  in  life.  By  life,"  he  added,  "  I  do  not  mean 
Thackeray's  novels ;  but  the  crimes  and  secret  possibilities 
of  our  society,  and  the  principles  of  wise  conduct  among 
exceptional  events.  I  am  a  patient  reader;  can  the  thing 
be  learnt  in  books?  " 

"  You  put  me  in  a  difficulty,"  said  the  stranger.  *'  I  con- 
fess I  have  no  great  notion  of  the  use  of  books,  except  to 
amuse  a  railway  journey;  although,  I  beheve,  there  are  some 
very  exact  treatises  on  astronomy,  the  use  of  the  globes, 
agriculture,  and  the  art  of  making  paper  flowers.     Upon 

112 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAIMOND 

the  less  apparent  provinces  of  life  I  fear  you  will  find  noth- 
ing truthful.  Yet  stay,"  he  added,  "  have  you  read 
Gaboriau  ?  " 

Mr.  Rolles  admitted  he  had  never  even  heard  the  name. 

"  You  may  gather  some  notions  from  Gaboriau,"  resumed 
the  stranger.  "  He  is  at  least  suggestive;  and  as  he  is  an 
author  much  studied  by  Prince  Bismarck,  you  will,  at  the 
worst,  lose  your  time  in  good  society." 

"  Sir,"  said  the  Curate,  "  I  am  infinitely  obliged  by  your 
politeness." 

"  You  have  already  more  than  repaid  me,"  returned  the 
other. 

"  How  ?  "  inquired  Simon. 

"  By  the  novelty  of  your  request,"  replied  the  gentleman ; 
and  with  a  polite  gesture,  as  though  to  ask  permission,  he 
resumed  the  study  of  the  Fortnightly  Reviezc. 

On  his  way  home  Mr.  Rolles  purchased  a  work  on  precious 
stones  and  several  of  Gaboriau's  novels.  These  last  he 
eagerly  skimmed  until  an  advanced  hour  in  the  morning;  but 
although  they  introduced  him  to  many  new  ideas,  he  could 
nowhere  discover  what  to  do  with  a  stolen  diamond.  He  was 
annoyed,  moreover,  to  find  the  information  scattered  amongst 
romantic  story-telling,  instead  of  soberly  set  forth  after  the 
manner  of  a  manual ;  and  he  concluded  that,  even  if  the  writer 
had  thought  much  upon  these  subjects,  he  was  totally  lack- 
ing in  educational  method.  For  the  character  and  attain- 
ments of  Lecoq,  however,  he  was  unable  to  contain  his  ad- 
miration. 

"  He  was  truly  a  great  creature,"  ruminated  Mr.  Rolles. 
"  He  knew  the  world  as  I  know  Paley's  Evidences.  There 
was  nothing  that  he  could  not  carry  to  a  termination  with 
his  own  hand,  and  against  the  largest  odds.  Heavens !  "  he 
broke  out  suddenly,  "is  not  this  the  lesson.''  Must  I  not 
learn  to  cut  diamonds  for  myself !  " 

It  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  had  sailed  at  once  out  of  his 
perplexities;  he  remembered  that  he  knew  a  jeweller,  one  B. 
Macculloch,  in  Edinburgh,  who  would  be  glad  to  put  him 
in  the  way  of  the  necessary  training ;  a  few  months,  perhaps 

113 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

a  few  years,  of  sordid  toil,  and  he  would  be  sufficiently 
expert  to  divide  and  sufficiently  cunning  to  dispose  with  ad- 
vantage of  the  Rajah's  Diamond.  That  done,  he  might 
return  to  pursue  his  researches  at  leisure,  a  wealthy  and 
luxurious  student,  envied  and  respected  by  all.  Golden 
visions  attended  him  through  his  slumber,  and  he  awoke  re- 
freshed and  light-hearted  with  the  morning  sun. 

Mr.  Raeburn's  house  was  on  that  day  to  be  closed  by  the 
police,  and  this  afforded  a  pretext  for  his  departure.  He 
cheerfully  prepared  his  baggage,  transported  it  to  King's 
Cross,  where  he  left  it  in  the  cloak-room,  and  returned  to 
the  club  to  while  away  the  afternoon  and  dine. 

"  If  you  dine  here  to-day,  Rolles,"  observed  an  acquaint- 
ance, "  you  may  see  two  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in 
England — Prince  Florizel  of  Bohemia,  and  old  Jack  Van- 
deleur." 

"  I  have  heard  of  the  Prince,"  replied  Mr.  Rolles ;  "  and 
General  Vandeleur  I  have  even  met  in  society." 

**  General  Vandeleur  is  an  ass ! "  returned  the  other. 
"  This  Is  his  brother  John,  the  biggest  adventurer,  the  best 
judge  of  precious  stones,  and  one  of  the  most  acute  diplo- 
matists in  Europe.  Have  you  never  heard  of  his  duel  with 
the  Due  de  Val  d'Orge?  of  his  exploits  and  atrocities  when 
he  was  Dictator  of  Paraguay?  of  his  dexterity  in  recovering 
Sir  Samuel  Levy's  jewelry.?  nor  of  his  services  in  the  Indian 
Mutiny — services  by  which  the  Government  profited,  but 
which  the  Government  dared  not  recognize.''  You  make  me 
wonder  what  we  mean  by  fame,  or  even  by  infamy ;  for  Jack 
Vandeleur  has  prodigious  claims  to  both.  Run  down  stairs," 
he  continued,  "  take  a  table  near  them,  and  keep  your  ears 
open.  You  will  hear  some  strange  talk,  or  I  am  much 
misled." 

"  But  how  shall  I  know  them?  "  Inquired  the  clergyman. 

"  Know  them ! "  cried  his  friend ;  "  why,  the  Prince  is  the 
finest  gentleman  in  Europe,  the  only  living  creature  who 
looks  like  a  thing;  and  as  for  Jack  Vandeleur,  if  you  can 
imagine  Ulysses  at  seventy  years  of  age,  and  with  a  sabre- 
cut  across  his  face,  you  have  the  man  before  you!     Know 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

them,  indeed !  Why,  you  could  pick  either  of  them  out  of  a 
Derby  day!" 

Rolks  eagerly  hurried  to  the  dining-room.  It  was  as  his 
friend  had  asserted ;  it  was  impossible  to  mistake  the  pair  in 
question.  Old  John  Vandeleur  was  of  remarkable  force  of 
body,  and  obviously  broken  to  the  most  difficult  exercises. 
He  had  neither  the  carriage  of  a  swordsman,  nor  of  a  sailor, 
nor  yet  of  one  much  inured  to  the  saddle;  but  something 
made  up  of  all  these,  and  the  result  and  expression  of  many 
different  habits  and  dexterities.  His  features  were  bold  and 
aquiline ;  his  expression  arrogant  and  predatory ;  his  whole 
appearance  that  of  a  swift,  violent,  unscrupulous  man  of 
action;  and  his  copious  white  hair  and  the  deep  sabre-cut 
that  traversed  his  nose  and  temple  added  a  note  of  savagery 
to  a  head  already  remarkable  and  menacing  in  itself. 

In  his  companion,  the  Prince  of  Bohemia,  Mr.  Rolles  was 
astonished  to  recognize  the  gentleman  who  had  recommended 
him  the  study  of  Oaboriau.  Doubtless  Prince  Florizel,  who 
rarely  visited  the  club,  of  which,  as  of  most  others,  he  was  an 
honorary  member,  had  been  waiting  for  John  Vandeleur  when 
Simon  accosted  liim  on  the  previous  evening. 

The  other  diners  had  modestly  retired  into  the  angles  of 
the  room,  and  left  the  distinguished  pair  in  a  certain  isola- 
tion, but  the  young  clergyman  was  unrestrained  by  any 
sentiment  of  awe,  and,  marching  up,  took  his  place  at  the 
nearest  table. 

The  conversation  was,  indeed,  new  to  the  student's  ears. 
The  ex-Dictator  of  Paraguay  stattd  many  extraordinary 
experiences  in  different  quarters  of  the  world ;  and  the  Prince 
supplied  a  commentary  which,  to  a  man  of  thought,  was 
even  more  interestina;  than  the  events  themselves.  Two  forms 
of  experience  were  thus  brought  together  and  laid  before  the 
young  clergyman ;  and  he  did  not  know  which  to  admire  the 
most — the  desperate  actor  or  the  skilled  expert  in  life;  the 
man  who  spoke  boldly  of  his  own  deeds  and  perils,  or  the  man 
who  seemed,  like  a  god,  to  know  all  things  and  to  have  suf- 
fered nothing.  The  manner  of  each  aptly  fitted  with  his 
part  in  the  discourse.     The  Dictator  indulged  in  brutalities 

115 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

alike  of  speech  and  gesture;  his  hand  opened  and  shirt  and 
fell  roughly  on  the  table;  and  his  voice  was  loud  and  heady. 
The  Prince,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  the  very  type  of 
urbane  docility  and  quiet;  the  least  movement,  the  least  in- 
flection, had  with  him  a  weightier  significance  than  all  the 
shouts  and  pantomime  of  his  companion ;  and  if  ever,  as  must 
frequently  have  been  the  case,  he  described  some  experience 
personal  to  himself,  it  was  so  aptly  dissimulated  as  to  pass 
unnoticed  with  the  rest. 

At  length  the  talk  wandered  on  to  the  late  robberies  and 
the  Rajah's  Diamond. 

"  That  diamond  would  be  better  in  the  sea,"  observed 
Prince  Florizel. 

"  As  a  Vandeleur,"  replied  the  Dictator,  "  your  Highness 
may  imagine  my  dissent." 

"  I  speak  on  grounds  of  public  policy,"  pursued  the 
Prince.  "  Jewels  so  valuable  should  be  reserved  for  the 
collection  of  a  Prince  or  the  treasury  of  a  great  nation.  To 
hand  them  about  among  the  common  sort  of  men  is  to  set  a 
price  on  Virtue's  head;  and  if  the  Rajah  of  Kashgar — a 
Prince,  I  understand,  of  great  enlightenment — desired  ven- 
geance upon  the  men  of  Europe,  he  could  hardly  have  gone 
more  efficaciously  about  his  purpose  than  by  sending  us  this 
apple  of  discord.  There  Is  no  honesty  too  robust  for  such 
a  trial.  I  myself,  who  have  many  duties  and  privileges  of 
my  own — I  m^^self,  Mr.  Vandeleur,  could  scarcely  handle 
the  intoxicating  crystal  and  be  safe.  As  for  you,  who  are 
a  diamond-hunter  by  taste  and  profession,  I  do  not  believe 
there  is  a  crime  in  the  calendar  you  would  not  perpetrate — 
I  do  not  believe  you  have  a  friend  In  the  world  whom  you 
would  not  eagerly  betray — I  do  not  know  If  you  have  a  fam- 
ily, but  if  you  have  I  declare  you  would  sacrifice  your 
children — and  all  this  for  what.^*  Not  to  be  richer,  nor  to 
have  more  comforts  or  more  respect,  but  simply  to  call  this 
diamond  yours  for  a  year  or  two  until  you  die,  and  now  and 
again  to  open  a  safe  and  look  at  it  as  one  looks  at  a  picture." 

"  It  is  true,"  replied  Vandeleur.  "  I  have  hunted  most 
things,  from  men  and  women  down  to  mosquitoes ;  I  have 

116 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAJNIOND 

dived  for  coral ;  I  have  followed  both  whales  and  tigers ;  and 
a  diamond  is  the  tallest  quarry  of  the  lot.  It  has  beauty 
and  worth;  it  alone  can  properly  reward  the  ardors  of  the 
chase.  At  this  moment,  as  your  Highness  may  fancy,  I  am 
upon  the  trail;  I  have  a  sure  knack,  a  wide  experience;  1 
know  every  stone  of  price  in  my  brother's  collection  as  n 
shepherd  knows  his  sheep ;  and  I  wish  I  may  die  if  I  do  not 
recover  them  every  one !  " 

"  Sir  Thomas  Vandeleur  will  have  great  cause  to  thank 
you,"  said  the  Prince. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure,"  returned  the  Dictator,  with  a  laugh. 
"  One  of  the  Vandeleurs  will.  Thomas  or  John — Peter  or 
Paul — we  are  all  apostles." 

"  I  did  not  catch  your  observation,"  said  the  Prince  with 
some  disgust. 

And  at  the  same  moment  the  waiter  Informed  Mr.  Van- 
deleur that  his  cab  was  at  the  door. 

Mr.  Rolles  glanced  at  the  clock,  and  saw  that  he  also 
must  be  moving;  and  the  coincidence  struck  him  shai-ply 
and  unpleasantly,  for  he  desired  to  see  no  more  of  the  dia- 
mond hunter. 

Much  study  having  somewhat  shaken  the  young  man's 
nerves,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  traveling  in  the  most  luxurious 
manner;  and  for  the  present  journey  he  had  taken  a  sofa  in 
the  sleeping  carriage. 

"  You  will  be  very  comfortable,"  said  the  guard :  "  there 
is  no  one  in  your  compartment,  and  only  one  old  gentleman 
in  the  other  end." 

It  was  close  upon  the  hour,  and  the  tickets  were  being 
examined,  when  Mr.  Rolles  beheld  this  other  fellow-passenger 
ushered  by  several  porters  into  his  place ;  certainly,  there  was 
not  another  man  in  the  world  whom  he  would  not  have  pre- 
ferred— for  it  was  old  John  Vandeleur,  the  ex -Dictator. 

The  sleeping  carriages  on  the  Great  Northern  line  were 
divided  into  three  compartments — one  at  each  end  for  travel- 
ers, and  one  in  the  centre  fitted  with  the  conveniences  of  a 
lavatory.  A  door  running  in  grooves  separated  each  of 
the  others   from  the  lavatory ;    but  as   there  were  neither 

117 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

bolts  nor  locks,  the  whole  suite  was  practically  common 
ground. 

When  Mr.  Rolles  had  studied  his  position,  he  perceived 
himself  without  defence.  If  the  Dictator  chose  to  pay  him 
a  visit  In  the  course  of  the  night,  he  could  do  no  less  than 
receive  it ;  he  had  no  means  of  fortification,  and  lay  open  to 
attack  as  If  he  had  been  lying  in  the  fields.  This  situation 
caused  him  some  agony  of  mind.  He  recalled  with  alarm 
the  boastful  statements  of  his  fellow-traveler  acros's  the 
dinlng-table,  and  the  professions  of  Immorality  which  he 
had  heard  him  offering  to  the  disgusted  Prince.  Some  per- 
sons, he  remembered  to  have  read,  are  endowed  with  a  singu- 
lar quickness  of  perception  for  the  neighborhood  of  precious 
metals ;  through  walls  and  even  at  considerable  distances  they 
are  said  to  divine  the  presence  of  gold.  Might  it  not  be 
the  same  wjth  diamonds?  he  wondered;  and  if  so,  who  was 
more  likely  to  enjoy  this  transcendental  sense  than  the  per- 
son who  gloried  in  the  appellation  of  the  Diamond  Hunter.'' 
From  such  a  man  he  recognized  that  he  had  everything  to 
fear,  and  longed  eagerly  for  the  arrival  of  the  day. 

In  the  meantime  he  neglected  no  precaution,  concealed 
his  diamond  in  the  most  internal  pocket  of  a  system  of  great 
coats,  and  devoutly  recommended  himself  to  the  care  of 
Providence. 

The  train  pursued  Its  usual  even  and  rapid  course;  and 
nearly  half  the  journey  had  been  accomplished  before  slum- 
ber began  to  triumph  over  uneasiness  in  the  breast  of 
Mr.  Rolles.  For  some  time  he  resisted  Its  influence ;  but  it 
grew  upon  him  more  and  more,  and  a  little  before  York  he 
was  fain  to  stretch  himself  upon  one  of  the  couches  and  suffer 
his  eyes  to  close;  and  almost  at  the  same  instant  conscious- 
ness deserted  the  young  clergyman.  His  last  thought  was 
of  his  terrifying  neighbor. 

When  he  awoke  It  was  still  pitch  dark,  except  for  the 
flicker  of  the  veiled  lamp ;  and  the  continual  roaring  and 
oscillation  testified  to  the  unrelaxed  velocity  of  the  train. 
He  sat  upright  in  a  panic,  for  he  had  been  tormented  by  the 
most  uneasy  dreams ;  it  was  some  seconds  before  he  recovered 

118 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMO]S^D 

his  self-command ;  and  even  after  he  had  resumed  a  recum- 
bent attitude  sleep  continued  to  flee  him ;  and  he  lay  awake 
with  his  brain  in  a  state  of  violent  agitation,  and  his  eyes 
fixed  upon  the  lavatory  door.  He  pulled  his  clerical  felt 
hat  over  his  brow  still  farther  to  shield  him  from  the  light ; 
and  he  adopted  the  usual  expedients,  such  as  counting  a 
thousand  or  banishing  thought,  by  which  experienced  in- 
valids are  accustomed  to  woo  the  approach  of  sleep.  In  the 
case  of  Mr.  Rolles  they  proved  one  and  all  vain ;  he  was 
harassed  by  a  dozen  different  anxieties — the  old  man  in 
the  other  end  of  the  carriage  haunted  him  in  the  most  alarm- 
ing shapes ;  and  in  whatever  attitude  he  chose  to  lie  the 
diamond  in  his  pocket  occasioned  him  a  sensible  physical  dis- 
tress. It  burned,  it  was  too  large.  It  bruised  his  ribs ;  and 
there  were  Infinitesimal  fractions  of  a  second  in  which  he  had 
half  a  mind  to  throw  It  from  the  window. 

While  he  was  thus  lying,  a  strange  incident  took  place. 

The  sliding-door  Into  the  lavatory  stirred  a  little,  and  then 
a  little  more,  and  was  finally  drawn  back  for  the  space  of 
about  twenty  inches.  The  lamp  In  the  lavatory  was  un- 
shaded, and  In  the  lighted  aperture  thus  disclosed,  Mr,  Rolles 
could  see  the  head  of  Mr.  Vandeleur  in  an  attitude  of  deep 
attention.  He  was  conscious  that  the  gaze  of  the  Dictator 
rested  intently  on  his  own  face;  and  the  instinct  of  self- 
preservation  moved  him  to  hold  his  breath,  to  refrain  from 
the  least  movement,  and  keeping  his  eyes  lowered,  to  watch 
his  visitor  from  underneath  the  lashes.  After  about  a  mo- 
ment, the  head  was  withdrawn  and  the  door  of  the  lavatory 
replaced. 

The  Dictator  had  not  come  to  attack,  but  to  observe ;  his 
action  was  not  that  of  a  man  threatening  another,  but  that 
of  a  man  who  was  himself  threatened;  If  Mr.  Rolles  was 
afraid  of  him,  it  appeared  that  he,  in  his  turn,  was  not  quite 
easy  on  the  score  of  Mr.  Rolles.  He  had  come.  It  would 
seem,  to  make  sure  that  his  only  fellow-traveler  was  asleep; 
and,  when  satisfied  on  that  point,  he  had  at  once  withdrawn. 

The  clergyman  leaped  to  his  feet.  The  extreme  of  terror 
had  given  place  to  a  reaction  of  foolhardy  daring.     He  re- 

119 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

fleeted  that  the  rattle  of  the  flying  train  concealed  all  other 
sounds,  and  determined,  come  what  might,  to  return  the  visit 
he  had  just  received.  Divesting  himself  of  his  cloak,  which 
might  have  interfered  with  the  freedom  of  his  action,  he 
entered  the  lavatory  and  paused  to  listen.  As  he  had  ex- 
pected, there  was  nothing  to  be  heard  above  the  roar  of  the 
train's  progress ;  and  laying  his  hand  on  the  door  at  the 
farther  side,  he  proceeded  cautiously  to  draw  it  back  for 
about  six  inches.  Then  he  stopped,  and  could  not  contain 
an  ejaculation  of  surprise. 

John  Vandeleur  wore  a  fur  traveling  cap  with  lappets 
to  protect  his  ears ;  and  this  may  have  combined  with  the 
sound  of  the  express  to  keep  him  in  ignorance  of  what  was 
going  forward.  It  Is  certain,  at  least,  that  he  did  not  raise 
his  head,  but  continued  without  interruption  to  pursue  his 
strange  emploj^ment.  Between  his  feet  stood  an  open  hat- 
box  ;  in  one  hand  he  held  the  sleeve  of  his  sealskin  greatcoat ; 
in  the  other  a  formidable  knife,  with  which  he  had  just  slit 
up  the  lining  of  the  sleeve.  Mr.  Rolles  had  read  of  persons 
carrying  money  in  a  belt;  and  as  he  had  no  acquaintance 
with  any  but  cricket -belts,  he  had  never  been  able  rightly  to 
conceive  how  this  was  managed.  But  here  was  a  stranger 
thing  before  his  eyes ;  for  John  Vandeleur,  it  appeared,  car- 
ried diam.onds  in  the  lining  of  his  sleeve ;  and  even  as  the 
young  clergyman  gazed,  he  could  see  one  glittering  brilliant 
drop  after  another  Into  the  hat-box. 

He  stood  riveted  to  the  spot,  following  this  unusual  busi- 
ness with  his  eyes.  The  diamonds  were,  for  the  most  part, 
small,  and  not  easily  distinguishable  either  in  shape  or  fire. 
Suddenly  the  Dictator  appeared  to  find  a  difficulty ;  he  em- 
ployed both  hands  and  stooped  over  his  task ;  but  It  was  not 
until  after  considerable  manoeuvring  that  he  extricated  a 
large  tiara  of  diamonds  from  the  lining,  and  held  It  up  for 
some  seconds'  examination  before  he  placed  it  with  the  others 
in  the  hat-box.  The  tiara  was  a  ray  of  light  to  Mr.  Rolles ; 
he  immediately  recognized  it  for  a  part  of  the  treasure  stolen 
from  Harry  Hartley  by  the  loiterer.  There  was  no  room  for 
mistake;  it  was  exactly  as  the  detective  had  described  it; 

ISO 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

there  v,^re  the  ruby  stars,  with  a  great  emerald  in  the  centre; 
there  were  the  interlacing  crescents ;  and  there  were  the 
pear-shaped  pendants,  each  a  single  stone,  which  gave  a  spe- 
cial value  to  Lady  Vandeleur's  tiara. 

Mr.  Rolles  was  hugely  relieved.  The  Dictator  was  as 
deeply  in  the  affair  as  he  was ;  neither  could  tell  tales  upon 
the  other.  In  the  first  glow  of  happiness,  the  clergyman 
suffered  a  deep  sigh  to  escape  him ;  and  as  his  bosom  had 
become  choked  and  his  throat  dry  during  his  previous  sus- 
pense, the  sigh  was  followed  by  a  cough. 

Mr.  Vandeleur  looked  up;  his  face  contracted  with  the 
blackest  and  most  deadly  passion ;  his  eyes  opened  widely, 
and  his  under  jaw  dropped  in  an  astonishment  that  was 
upon  the  brink  of  fury.  By  an  instinctive  movement  he  had 
covered  the  hat-box  with  the  coat.  For  half  a  minute  the 
two  men  stared  upon  each  other  in  silence.  It  was  not  a  long 
interval,  but  it  sufficed  for  Mr.  Rolles ;  he  was  one  of  those 
who  think  swiftly  on  dangerous  occasions ;  he  decided  on  a 
course  of  action  of  a  singularly  daring  nature ;  and  although 
he  felt  he  was  setting  his  life  upon  the  hazard,  he  was  the 
first  to  break  silence. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  he. 

The  Dictator  shivered  slightly,  and  when  he  spoke  his 
voice  was  hoarse. 

*'  What  do  you  want  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  take  a  particular  Interest  In  diamonds,"  replied  Mr. 
Rolles,  with  an  air  of  perfect  self-possession.  "  Two  con- 
noisseurs should  be  acquainted.  I  have  here  a  trifle  of  my 
own  which  may  perhaps  serve  for  an  Introduction." 

And  so  saying,  he  quietly  took  the  case  from  his  pocket, 
showed  the  Rajah's  Diamond  to  the  Dictator  for  an  instant, 
and  replaced  it  in  security. 

"  It  was  once  your  brother's,"  he  added. 

John  Vandeleur  continued  to  regard  him  with  a  look  of 
almost  painful  amazement ;  but  he  neither  spoke  nor  moved. 

"  I  was  pleased  to  observe,"  resumed  the  young  man, 
**  that  we  have  gems  from  the  same  collection." 

The  Dictator's  surprise  overpowered  him. 

121 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  I  beg  jour  pardon,"  he  said ;  "  I  begin  to  perceive  that 
I  am  growing  old !  I  am  positively  not  prepared  for  little 
incidents  like  this.  But  set  my  mind  at  rest  upon  one  point : 
do  my  eyes  deceive  me,  or  are  you  indeed  a  parson?  " 

"  I  am  in  holy  orders,"  answered  Mr.  Rolles. 

*'  Well,"  cried  the  other,  "  as  long  as  I  live  I  will  never 
hear  another  word  against  the  cloth ! " 

"  You  flatter  me,"  said  Mr.  Rolles. 

"  Pardon  me,"  replied  Vandeleur ;  **  pardon  me,  young 
man.  You  are  no  coward,  but  it  still  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  you  are  not  the  worst  of  fools.  Perhaps,"  he  con- 
tinued, leaning  back  upon  his  seat,  "  perhaps  you  would 
oblige  me  with  a  few  particulars.  I  must  suppose  you  had 
some  object  in  the  stupefying  impudence  of  your  proceed- 
ings, and  I  confess  I  have  a  curiosity  to  know  it." 

"  It  is  very  simple,"  replied  the  clergyman ;  "  it  proceeds 
from  my  gfeat  inexperience  of  life." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  persuaded,"  answered  Vandeleur.  ■ 

Whereupon  Mr.  Rolles  told  him  the  whole  story  of  his 
connection  with  the  Rajah's  Diamond,  from  the  time  he 
found  it  in  Raeburn's  garden  to  the  time  when  he  left  Lon- 
don in  the  Flying  Scotchman.  He  added  a  brief  sketch  of 
his  feelings  and  thoughts  during  the  journey,  and  concluded 
in  these  words: — 

"  When  I  recognized  the  tiara  I  knew  we  were  in  the  same 
attitude  towards  Society,  and  this  inspired  me  with  a  hope, 
which  I  trust  you  will  say  was  not  ill-founded,  that  you 
might  become  in  some  sense  my  partner  in  the  difficulties  and, 
of  course,  the  profits  of  my  situation.  To  one  of  your 
special  knowledge  and  obviously  great  experience  the  nego- 
tiation of  the  diamond  would  give  but  little  trouble,  while 
to  me  it  was  a  matter  of  impossibility.  On  the  other  part, 
I  judged  that  I  might  lose  nearly  as  much  by  cutting  the 
diamond,  and  that  not  improbably  with  an  unskilful  hand, 
as  might  enable  me  to  pay  you  with  proper  generosity  for 
your  assistance.  The  subject  was  a  delicate  one  to  broach; 
and  perhaps  I  fell  short  in  delicacy.  But  I  must  ask  you  to 
remember  that  for  me  the  situation  was  a  new  one,  and  I 

122 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

was  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  etiquette  in  use.  I  be- 
lieve without  vanity  that  I  could  have  married  or  baptized 
you  in  a  very  acceptable  manner ;  but  every  man  has  his  own 
aptitudes,  and  this  sort  of  bargain  was  not  among  the  list 
of  my  accomplishments." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  flatter  you,"  replied  Vandeleur ;  "  but 
upon  my  word,  you  have  an  unusual  disposition  for  a  life 
of  crime.  You  have  more  accomplishments  than  you 
imagine;  and  though  I  have  encountered  a  number  of  rogues 
in  different  quarters  of  the  world,  I  never  met  with  one  so 
unblushing  as  yourself.  Cheer  up,  Mr.  Rolles,  you  are  in 
the  right  profession  at  last !  As  for  helping  you,  you  may 
command  me  as  you  will.  I  have  only  a  day's  business  in 
Edinburgh  on  a  little  matter  for  my  brother ;  and  once  that 
is  concluded,  I  return  to  Paris,  where  I  usually  reside.  If 
you  please,  you  may  accompany  me  thither.  And  before  the 
end  of  a  month  I  believe  I  shall  have  brought  your  little 
business  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion." 

(At  this  'point,  contrary  to  all  the  canons  of  his  art,  our 
Arabian  Author  breaks  off  the  Story  of  the  Young  Man 
IN  HbLY  Orders.  /  regret  and  condemn  such  practices;  but 
I  must  follow  my  original,  and  refer  the  reader  for  the  con- 
clusion of  Mr.  Rolles^s  adventures  to  the  next  number  of  the 
cycle t  the  Story  of  the  House  with  the  Green  Blinds.) 


1281 


THE    STOET   OF    THE    HOUSE    WITH    THE    GREEN    BLINDS 

FRANCIS  SCRYMGEOUR,  a  clerk  in  the  Bank  of  Scot- 
land at  Edinburgh,  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  in  a  sphere  of  quiet,  creditable,  and  domestic  life.  His 
mother  died  while  he  was  young;  but  his  father,  a  man  of 
sense  and  probity,  had  given  him  an  excellent  education  at 
school,  and  brought  him  up  at  home  to  orderly  and  frugal 
habits.  Francis,  who  was  of  a  docile  and  affectionate  dis- 
position, profited  by  these  advantages  with  zeal,  and  devoted 
himself  heart  and  soul  to  his  employment.  A  walk  upon 
Saturday  afternoon,  an  occasional  dinner  with  members  of 
his  family,  and  a  yearly  tour  of  a  fortnight  in  the  Highlands 
or  even  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  were  his  principal  dis- 
tractions, and  he  grew  rapidly  in  favor  with  his  superiors, 
and  enjoyed  already  a  salary  of  nearly  two  hundreds  pounds 
a  year,  with  the  prospect  of  an  ultimate  advance  to  almost 
double  that  amount.  Few  young  men  were  more  contented, 
few  more  willing  and  laborious  than  Francis  Scrymgeour. 
Sometimes  at  night,  when  he  had  read  the  daily  paper,  he 
would  play  upon  the  flute  to  amuse  his  father,  for  whose 
qualities  he  entertained  a  great  respect. 

One  day  he  received  a  note  from  a  well-known  firm  of 
Writers  to  the  Signet,  requesting  the  favor  of  an  immediate 
interview  with  him.  The  latter  was  marked  "  Private  and 
Confidential,"  and  had  been  addressed  to  him  at  the  bank, 
instead  of  at  home — two  unusual  circumstances  which  made 
him  obey  the  summons  with  the  more  alacrity.  The  senior 
member  of  the  firm,  a  man  of  much  austerity  of  manner, 
made  him  gravely  welcome,  requested  him  to  take  a  seat,  and 
proceeded  to  explain  the  matter  in  hand  in  the  picked  ex- 
pressions  of  a  veteran   man   of  business.     A  person,  who 

124 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

must  remain  nameless,  but  of  whom  the  lawyer  had  every 
reason  to  think  well — a  man,  in  short,  of  some  station  in  the 
country — desired  to  make  Francis  an  annual  allowance  of 
five  hundred  pounds.  The  capital  was  to  be  placed  under 
the  control  of  the  lawyer's  firm  and  two  trustees  who  must 
also  remain  anonymous.  There  were  conditions  annexed  to 
this  hberality,  but  he  was  of  opinion  that  his  new  client 
would  find  nothing  either  excessive  or  dishonorable  in  the 
terms;  and  he  repeated  these  two  words  v/ith  emphasis,  as 
though  he  desired  to  commit  himself  to  nothing  more. 

Francis  asked  their  nature. 

"  The  conditions,"  said  the  Writer  to  the  Signet,  "  are, 
as  I  have  twice  remarked,  neither  dishonorable  nor  excessive. 
At  the  same  time  I  cannot  conceal  from  you  that  they  are 
most  unusual.  Indeed,  the  whole  case  is  very  much  out  of 
our  way ;  and  I  should  certainly  have  refused  it  had  it  not 
been  for  the  reputation  of  the  gentleman  who  entrusted  it 
to  my  care,  and,  let  me  add,  Mr.  Scrymgeour,  the  interest  I 
have  been  led  to  take  in  yourself  by  many  complimentary 
and,  I  have  no  doubt,  well-deserved  reports." 

Francis  entreated  him  to  be  more  specific. 

"  You  cannot  picture  my  uneasiness  as  to  these  condi- 
tions," he  said. 

"  They  are  two,"  replied  the  lawyer,  "  only  two ;  and  the 
sum,  as  you  will  remember,  is  five  hundred  a  year — and 
unburthened,  I  forgot  to  add,  unburdened." 

And  the  lawyer  raised  his  eyebrows  at  him  with  solemn 
gusto. 

"  The  first,"  he  resumed,  "  is  of  remarkable  simplicity. 
You  must  be  in  Paris  by  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  the  15th; 
there  you  will  find,  at  the  box-office  of  the  Comedic  Fran9aise, 
a  ticket  for  admission  taken  in  your  name  and  waiting  you. 
You  are  requested  to  sit  out  the  whole  perfomiance  in  the 
seat  provided,  and  that  is  all." 

*'  I  should  certainly  have  preferred  a  week-day,"  rephed 
Francis.     "  But,  after  all,  once  in  a  way " 

"  And  in  Paris,  my  dear  sir,"  added  the  lawyer,  sooth- 
ingly.    "  I  believe  I  am  something  of  a  precisian  myself,  but 

125 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

upon  such  a  consideration,  and  in  Paris,  I  should  not  hesi- 
tate an  instant." 

And  the  pair  laughed  pleasantly  together. 

*'  The  other  is  of  more  importance,"  continued  the  Writer 
to  the  Signet.  "  It  regards  your  marriage.  My  client, 
taking  a  deep  interest  in  your  welfare,  desires  to  advise  you 
absolutely  in  the  choice  of  a  wife.  Absolutely,  you  under- 
stand," he  repeated. 

"  Let  us  be  more  explicit,  if  you  please,"  returned  Francis. 
"  Am  I  to  marry  anyone,  maid  or  widow,  black  or  white, 
whom  this  invisible  person  chooses  to  propose.''  " 

"  I  was  to  assure  you  that  suitability  of  age  and  posi- 
tion should  be  a  principle  with  your  benefactor,"  replied  the 
lawyer.  "  As  to  race,  I  confess  the  difficulty  had  not  oc- 
curred to  me,  and  I  failed  to  inquire;  but  if  you  like  I  will 
make  a  note  of  it  at  once,  and  advise  you  on  the  earliest 
opportunity." 

"  Sir,"  said  Francis,  "  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  this 
whole  affair  is  not  a  most  unworthy  fraud.  The  circum- 
stances are  inexplicable — I  had  almost  said  incredible ;  and 
until  I  see  a  little  more  daylight,  and  some  plausible  motive, 
I  confess  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  put  a  hand  to  the  trans- 
action. I  appeal  to  you  in  this  difficulty  for  information. 
I  must  learn  what  is  at  the  bottom  of  it  all.  If  you  do  not 
know,  cannot  guess,  or  are  not  at  liberty  to  tell  me,  I  shall 
take  my  hat  and  go  back  to  my  bank  as  I  came." 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  the  lawyer,  "  but  I  have  an  ex- 
cellent guess.  Your  father,  and  no  one  else,  is  at  the  root  of 
this  apparently  unnatural  business." 

"  My  father ! "  cried  Francis,  in  extreme  disdain. 
"  Worthy  man,  I  know  every  thought  of  his  mind,  every 
penny  of  his  fortune !  " 

"  You  misinterpret  my  words,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  I  do  not 
refer  to  Mr.  Scrymgeour,  senior;  for  he  is  not  your  father. 
When  he  and  his  wife  came  to  Edinburgh,  you  were  already 
nearly  one  year  old,  and  you  had  not  yet  been  three  months 
in  their  care.  The  secret  has  been  well  kept ;  but  such  is  the 
fact.     Your  father  is  unknown,  and  I  say  again  that  I  be- 

126 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

Heve  him  to  be  the  original  of  the  offers  I  am  charged  at 
present  to  transmit  to  you." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  astonishment  of 
Francis  Scrymgeour  at  this  unexpected  information.  Pie 
pleaded  this  confusion  to  the  lawyer. 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  "  after  a  piece  of  news  so  startling,  j'ou 
must  grant  me  some  hours  for  thought.  You  shall  know  this 
evening  what  conclusion  I  have  reached." 

The  lawyer  commended  his  prudence;  and  Francis,  ex- 
cusing himself  upon  some  pretext  at  the  bank,  took  a  long 
walk  into  the  country,  and  fully  considered  the  different  steps 
and  aspects  of  the  case,  A  pleasant  sense  of  his  own  im- 
portance rendered  him  the  more  deliberate ;  but  the  issue  was 
from  the  first  not  doubtful.  His  whole  carnal  man  leaned 
irresistibly  towards  the  five  hundred  a  year,  and  the  strange 
conditions  with  which  it  was  burdened;  he  discovered  in  his 
heart  an  invincible  repugnance  to  the  name  of  Scrymgeour, 
which  he  had  never  hitherto  disliked ;  he  began  to  despise  the 
narrow  and  unromantic  Interest  of  his  former  life ;  and  when 
once  his  mind  was  fairly  made  up,  he  walked  with  a  new  feel- 
ing of  strength  and  freedom,  and  nourished  himself  with  the 
gayest  anticipations. 

He  said  but  a  word  to  the  lawyer,  and  immediately  re- 
ceived a  check  for  two  quarters'  arrears ;  for  the  allowance 
was  antedated  from  the  first  of  January.  With  this  In  his 
pocket,  he  walked  home.  The  flat  in  Scotland  Street  looked 
mean  in  his  eyes ;  his  nostrils,  for  the  first  time,  rebelled 
against  the  odor  of  broth;  and  he  observed  little  defects  of 
manner  in  his  adoptive  father  which  filled  him  with  sur- 
prise and  almost  with  disgust.  The  next  day,  he  determined, 
should  see  him  on  his  way  to  Paris. 

In  that  city,  where  he  arrived  long  before  the  appointed 
date,  he  put  up  at  a  modest  hotel  frequented  by  English  and 
Italians,  and  devoted  himself  to  improvement  in  the  French 
tongue ;  for  this  purpose  he  had  a  master  twice  a  week,  en- 
tered Into  conversation  with  loiterers  In  the  Champs  Elysees, 
and  nightly  frequented  the  theatre.  He  had  his  whole 
toilette  fashionably  renewed;  and  was  shaved  and  had  his 

127 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

liair  dressed  every  morning  by  a  barber  in  a  neighboring 
street.  This  gave  him  something  of"  a  foreign  aifj  and 
seemed  to  wipe  off  the  reproach  of  his  past  years. 

At  length,  on  the  Saturday  afternoon,  he  betook  himself 
to  the  box-office  of  the  theatre  in  the  Rue  Richelieu.  No 
sooner  had  he  mentioned  his  name  than  the  clerk  produced 
the  order  in  an  envelope  of  which  the  address  was  scarcely 
dry. 

"  It  has  been  taken  this  moment,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  Indeed !  "  said  Francis.  "  May  I  ask  what  the  gentle- 
man was  like.''  " 

"  Your  friend  is  easy  to  describe,"  replied  the  official, 
*'  He  is  old  and  strong  and  beautiful,  with  white  hair  and 
a  sabre-cut  across  his  face.  You  cannot  fail  to  recognize 
so  marked  a  person." 

"  No,  indeed,"  returned  Francis ;  "  and  I  thank  you  for 
your  poHteness." 

"  He  cannot  yet  be  far  distant,"  added  the  clerk.  "  If  you 
make  haste  you  might  still  overtake  him." 

Francis  did  not  wait  to  be  twice  told ;  he  ran  precipitately 
from  the  theatre  into  the  middle  of  the  street  and  looked  in 
all  directions.  More  than  one  white-haired  man  was  within 
sight;  but  though  he  overtook  each  of  them  in  succession, 
all  wanted  the  sabre-cut.  For  nearly  half-an-hour  he  tried 
one  street  after  another  in  the  neighborhood,  until  at  length, 
recognizing  the  folly  of  continued  search,  he  started  on  a 
walk  to  compose  his  agitated  feelings ;  for  this  proximity  of 
an  encounter  with  him  to  whom  he  could  not  doubt  he  owed 
the  day  had  profoundly  moved  the  young  man. 

It  chanced  that  his  way  lay  up  the  Rue  Drouot  and 
thence  up  the  Rue  des  Martyrs ;  and  chance,  in  this  case, 
served  him  better  than  all  the  forethought  in  the  world.  For 
on  the  outer  boulevard  he  saw  two  men  in  earnest  colloquy 
upon  a  seat.  One  was  dark,  young,  and  handsome,  secularly 
dressed,  but  with  an  indelible  clerical  stamp;  the  other  an- 
swered in  every  particular  to  the  description  given  him  by 
the  clerk.  Francis  felt  his  heart  beat  high  in  his  bosom;  he 
knew  he  was  now  about  to  hear  the  voice  of  his  father ;  and 

128 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

mating  a  wide  circuit,  he  noiselessly  took  his  place  behind 
the  couple  in  question,  who  were  too  much  interested  in  their 
talk  to  observe  much  else.  As  Francis  had  expected,  the 
conversation  was  conducted  in  the  English  language, 

"  Your  suspicions  begin  to  annoy  me,  Rolles,"  said  the 
older  man.  "  I  tell  you  I  am  doing  my  utmost ;  a  man  can- 
not lay  his  hand  on  millions  in  a  moment.  Have  I  not  taken 
you  up,  a  mere  stranger,  out  of  pure  good  will.'*  Are  you  not 
living  largely  on  my  bounty?  " 

"  On  your  advances,  Mr.  Vandeleur,"  corrected  the  other. 

"Advances,  if  you  choose;  and  interest  instead  of  good- 
will, if  you  prefer  it,"  returned  Vandeleur,  angrily.  "  I 
am  not  here  to  pick  expressions.  Business  is  business ;  and 
your  business,  let  me  remind  you,  is  too  muddy  for  such 
airs.  Trust  me,  or  leave  me  alone  and  find  someone  else; 
but  let  us  have  an  end,  for  God's  sake,  of  your  jere- 
miads." 

"  I  am  beginning  to  learn  the  world,"  replied  the  other, 
*'  and  I  see  that  j^ou  have  every  reason  to  play  me  false, 
and  not  one  to  deal  honestly.  I  am  not  here  to  pick  expres- 
sions either;  you  wish  the  diamond  for  yourself:  you  know 
you  do — you  dare  not  deny  it.  Have  you  not  already  forged 
my  name,  and  searched  my  lodging  in  my  absence?  I  under- 
stand the  cause  of  your  delays ;  you  are  lying  in  wait ;  you 
are  the  diamond-hunter,  forsooth;  and  sooner  or  later,  by 
fair  means  or  foul,  you'll  lay  your  hands  upon  it.  I  tell  you, 
it  must  stop;  push  me  much  further  and  I  promise  you  a 
surprise." 

"  It  does  not  become  you  to  use  threats,"  returned  Van- 
deleur. "  Two  can  play  at  that.  My  brother  is  here  in 
Paris;  the  police  are  on  the  alert;  and  if  you  persist  in 
wearj'ing  me  with  your  caterwauling,  I  will  arrange  a  little 
astonishment  for  you,  Mr.  Rolles.  But  mine  shall  be  once 
and  for  all.  Do  you  understand,  or  would  you  prefer  me  to 
tell  it  3^ou  in  Hebrew?  There  is  an  end  to  all  things,  and 
you  have  come  to  the  end  of  my  patience.  Tuesdaj^  at 
seven;  not  a  day,  not  an  hour  sooner,  not  the  least  part  of 
a  second,  if  it  were  to  save  your  life.     And  if  you  do  not 

129 


NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS 

choose  to  wait,  you  may  go  to  the  bottomless  pit  for  me,  and 
welcome." 

And  so  saying,  the  Dictator  arose  from  the  bench,  and 
marched  off  in  the  direction  of  Montmartre,  shaking  his 
head  and  swinging  his  cane  with  a  most  furious  air ;  while 
his  companion  remained  where  he  was,  in  an  attitude  of  great 
dejection. 

Francis  was  at  the  pitch  of  surprise  and  horror ;  his  senti- 
ments had  been  shocked  to  the  last  degree ;  the  hopeful  ten- 
derness with  which  he  had  taken  his  place  upon  the  bench 
was  transformed  into  repulsion  and  despair;  old  Mr.  Scrym- 
geour,  he  reflected,  was  a  far  more  kindly  and  creditable 
parent  than  this  dangerous  and  violent  intriguer;  but  he 
retained  his  presence  of  mind,  and  suffered  not  a  moment 
to  elapse  before  he  was  on  the  trail  of  the  Dictator. 

That  gentleman's  fury  carried  him  forward  at  a  brisk 
pace,  and  he  was  so  completely  occupied  in  his  angry 
thoughts  that  he  never  so  much  as  cast  a  look  behind  him 
till  he  reached  his  own  door. 

His  house  stood  high  up  in  the  Rue  Lepic,  commanding  a 
view  of  all  Paris  and  enjoying  the  pure  air  of  the  heights. 
It  was  two  stories  high,  with  green  blinds  and  shutters ;  and 
all  the  windows  looking  on  the  street  were  hermetically 
closed.  Tops  of  trees  showed  over  the  high  garden  wall,  and 
the  wall  was  protected  by  chevaux-de-frise.  The  Dictator 
paused  a  moment  while  he  searched  his  pocket  for  a  key ; 
and  then,  opening  a  gate,  disappeared  within  the  enclosure. 

Francis  looked  about  him ;  the  neighborhood  was  very 
lonely ;  the  house  isolated  in  its  garden.  It  seemed  as  if  his 
observation  must  here  come  to  an  abrupt  end.  A  second 
glance,  however,  showed  him  a  tall  house  next  door  present- 
ing a  gable  to  the  garden,  and  in  this  gable  a  single  window. 
He  passed  to  the  front  and  saw  a  ticket  offering  unfurnished 
lodgings  by  the  month,  and,  on  inquiry,  the  room  which 
commanded  the  Dictator's  garden  proved  to  be  one  of  those 
to  let.  Francis  did  not  hesitate  a  moment ;  he  took  the  room, 
paid  an  advance  upon  the  rent,  and  returned  to  his  hotel  to 
seek  his  baggage. 

ISO 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

The  old  man  with  the  sabre-cut  might  or  might  not  be  his 
father;  he  might  or  he  might  not  be  on  the  true  scent;  but 
he  was  certainly  on  the  edge  of  an  exciting  mystery,  and  he 
promised  himself  that  he  would  not  relax  his  observation  until 
he  had  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  secret. 

From  the  window  of  his  new  apartment  Francis  Scrym- 
geour  commanded  a  complete  view  into  the  garden  of  the 
house  with  the  green  blinds.  Immediately  below  him  a  very 
comely  chestnut  with  wide  boughs  sheltered  a  pair  of  rustic 
tables  where  people  might  dine  in  the  height  of  summer.  On 
all  sides  save  one  a  dense  vegetation  concealed  the  soil:  but 
there,  between  the  tables  and  the  house,  he  saw  a  patch  of 
gravel  walk  leading  from  the  veranda  to  the  garden  gate. 
Studying  the  places  from  between  the  boards  of  the  Venetian 
shutter,  which  he  durst  not  open  for  fear  of  attracting  atten- 
tion, Francis  observed  but  little  to  indicate  the  manners  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  that  little  argued  no  more  than  a  close 
reserve  and  a  taste  for  solitude.  The  garden  was  conven- 
tual, the  house  had  the  air  of  a  prison.  The  green  blinds 
were  all  drawn  down  upon  the  outside ;  the  door  into  the 
veranda  was  closed;  the  garden,  as  far  as  he  could  see  it, 
was  left  entirely  to  itself  in  the  evening  sunshine.  A  modest 
curl  of  smoke  from  a  single  chimney  alone  testified  to  the 
presence  of  living  people. 

In  order  that  he  might  not  be  entirely  idle,  and  to  give  a 
certain  color  to  his  way  of  life,  Francis  had  purchased 
Euclid's  Geometry  in  French,  which  he  set  himself  to  copy 
and  translate  on  the  top  of  his  portmanteau  and  seated  on 
the  floor  against  the  wall;  for  he  was  equally  without  chair 
or  table.  From  time  to  time  he  would  rise  and  cast  a  glance 
into  the  enclosure  of  the  house  with  the  green  blinds  ;  but  the 
windows  remained  obstinately  closed  and  the  garden  empty. 

Only  late  in  the  evening  did  anything  occur  to  reward 
his  continued  attention.  Between  nine  and  ten  the  sharp 
tinkle  of  a  bell  aroused  him  from  a  fit  of  dozing;  and  he 
sprang  to  his  observatory  in  time  to  hear  an  important 
noise  of  locks  being  opened  and  bars  removed,  and  to  see 
Mr.  Vandeleur,  carrying  a  lantern  and  clothed  in  a  flowing 

131 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

robe  of  black  velvet  with  a  skull-cap  to  match,  issue  from 
under  the  veranda  and  proceed  leisurely  toward  the  garden 
gate.  The  sound  of  bolts  and  bars  was  then  repeated;  and 
a  moment  after  Francis  perceived  the  Dictator  escorting 
into  the  house,  in  the  mobile  light  of  the  lantern,  an  individual 
of  the  lowest  and  most  despicable  appearance. 

Half-an-hour  afterward  the  visitor  was  reconducted  to 
the  street;  and  Mr.  Vandeleur,  setting  his  light  upon  one 
of  the  rustic  tables,  finished  a  cigar  with  great  deliberation 
under  the  foliage  of  the  chestnut.  Francis,  peering  through 
a  clear  space  among  the  leaves,  was  able  to  follow  his  ges- 
tures as  he  threw  away  the  ash  or  enjoyed  a  copious  inhala- 
tion; and  beheld  a  cloud  upon  the  old  man's  brow  and  a 
forcible  action  of  the  lips,  which  testified  to  some  deep  and 
probably  painful  train  of  thought.  The  cigar  was  already 
almost  at  an  end,  when  the  voice  of  a  young  girl  was  heard 
suddenly  crying  the  hour  from  the  interior  of  the  housCo 

*'  In  a  moment,"  replied  John  Vandeleur. 

And,  with  that,  he  threw  away  the  stump  and,  taking  up 
the  lantern,  sailed  away  under  the  veranda  for  the  night. 
As  soon  as  the  door  was  closed,  absolute  darkness  fell  upon 
the  house ;  Francis  might  try  his  eyesight  as  much  as  he 
pleased,  he  could  not  detect  so  much  as  a  single  chink  of  light 
below  a  blind ;  and  he  concluded,  with  great  good  sense,  that 
the  bed  chambers  were  all  upon  the  other  side. 

Early  the  next  morning  (for  he  was  early  awake  after 
an  uncomfortable  night  upon  the  floor),  he  saw  cause  to 
adopt  a  different  explanation.  The  blinds  rose,  one  after 
another,  by  means  of  a  spring  in  the  interior,  and  disclosed 
steel  shutters  such  as  we  see  on  the  front  of  shops ;  these  in 
their  turn  were  rolled  up  by  a  similar  contrivance;  and  for 
the  space  of  about  an  hour,  the  chambers  were  left  open  to 
the  morning  air.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Vandeleur, 
with  his  own  hand,  once  more  closed  the  shutters  and  replaced 
the  blinds  from  within. 

VV^hile  Francis  was  still  marvelling  at  these  precautions, 
the  door  opened  and  a  young  girl  came  forth  to  look  about 
her  in  the  garden.     It  was  not  two  minutes  before  she  re- 

132 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

entered  the  house,  but  even  in  that  short  time  he  saw  enough 
to  convince  him  that  she  possessed  the  most  unusual  attrac- 
tions. His  curiosity  was  not  only  highly  excited  by  this 
incident,  but  his  spirits  were  improved  to  a  still  more  notable 
degree.  The  alarming  manners  and  more  than  equivocal 
life  of  his  father  ceased  from  that  moment  to  prey  upon  his 
mind;  from  that  moment  he  embraced  his  new  family  with 
ardor;  and  whether  the  young  lady  should  prove  his  sister 
or  his  wife,  he  felt  convinced  she  was  an  angel  in  disguise. 
So  much  was  this  the  case  that  he  was  seized  with  a  sudden 
horror  when  he  reflected  how  little  he  really  knew,  and  how 
possible  it  was  that  he  followed  the  wrong  person  when  he 
followed  Mr.  Vandeleur. 

The  porter,  whom  he  consulted,  could  afford  him  little  in- 
formation ;  but,  such  as  it  was,  it  had  a  mysterious  and 
questionable  sound.  The  person  next  door  was  an  English 
gentleman  of  extraordinary  wealth,  and  proportionately  ec- 
centric in  his  tastes  and  habits.  He  possessed  great  collec- 
tions, which  he  kept  in  the  house  beside  him;  and  it  was  to 
protect  these  that  he  had  fitted  the  place  with  steel  shutters, 
elaborate  fastenings  and  chevaux-de-frise  along  the  garden 
wall.  He  lived  much  alone,  in  spite  of  some  strange  visitors 
with  whom,  it  seemed,  he  had  business  to  transact;  and  there 
was  no  one  in  the  house  except  Mademoiselle  and  an  old 
woman  servant. 

"  Is  Mademoiselle  his  daughter  .^  "  inquired  Francis. 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  porter.  "  Mademoiselle  is  the 
daughter  of  the  house ;  and  strange  it  is  to  see  how  she  is 
made  to  work.  For  all  his  riches,  it  is  she  who  goes  to 
market ;  and  every  day  in  the  week  you  may  see  her  going 
by  with  a  basket  on  her  arm." 

"  And  the  collections  ?  "  asked  the  other. 

"  Sir,"  said  the  man,  "  they  are  immensely  valuable.  ]\Iore 
I  cannot  tell  you.  Since  M.  de  Vandeleur's  arrival  no  one 
in  the  quarter  has  so  much  as  passed  the  door." 

"  Suppose  not,"  returned  Francis,  "  you  must  surely  have 
some  notion  what  these  famous  galleries  contain.  Is  it  pic- 
tures, silks,  statues,  jewels,  or  what.''  " 

133 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  My  faith,  sir,"  said  the  fellow  with  a  shrug,  "  it  might 
be  carrots,  and  still  I  could  not  tell  you.  How  should  I 
know?     The  house  is  kept  like  a  garrison,  as  you  perceive." 

And  then  as  Francis  was  returning  disappointed  to  his 
room,  the  porter  called  him  back. 

*'  I  have  just  remembered,  sir,"  said  he.  "  M.  de  Vande- 
leur  has  been  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  I  once  heard  the 
old  woman  declare  that  he  had  brought  many  diamonds  back 
with  him.  If  that  be  the  truth,  there  must  be  a  fine  show 
behind  those  shutters." 

By  an  early  hour  on  Sunday  Francis  was  in  his  place  at 
the  theatre.  The  seat  which  had  been  taken  for  him  was 
only  two  or  three  numbers  from  the  left  hand  side,  and 
directly  opposite  one  of  the  lower  boxes.  As  the  seat  had 
been  specially  chosen  there  was  doubtless  something  to  be 
learned  from  its  position;  and  he  judged  by  instinct  that 
the  box  upon  his  right  was,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  be 
connected  with  the  drama  in  which  he  ignorantly  played  a 
part.  Indeed  it  was  so  situated  that  its  occupants  could 
safely  observe  him  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  piece,  if 
they  were  so  minded ;  while,  profiting  by  the  depth,  they 
could  screen  themselves  sufficiently  well  from  any  counter- 
examination  on  his  side.  He  promised  himself  not  to  leave 
it  for  a  moment  out  of  sight;  and  whilst  he  scanned  the  rest 
of  the  theatre,  or  made  a  show  of  attending  to  the  business 
of  the  stage,  he  always  kept  a  corner  of  an  eye  upon  the 
empty  box. 

The  second  act  had  been  some  time  in  progress,  and  was 
even  drawing  towards  a  close,  when  the  door  opened  and 
two  persons  entered  and  ensconced  themselves  in  the  darkest 
of  the  shade.  Francis  could  hardly  control  his  emotion.  It 
was  Mr.  Vandeleur  and  his  daughter.  The  blood  came  and 
went  in  his  arteries  and  veins  with  stunning  activity;  his 
ears  sang ;  his  head  turned.  He  dared  not  look  lest  he  should 
awake  suspicion ;  his  play-bill,  which  he  kept  reading  from 
end  to  end  and  over  and  over  again,  turned  from  white 
to  red  before  his  eyes;  and  when  he  cast  a  glance  upon  the 
stage,  it  seemed  incalculably  far  away,  and  he  found  the 

134 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

voices  and  gestures  of  the  actors  to  the  last  degree  imperti- 
nent and  absurd. 

From  time  to  time  he  risked  a  momentary  look  in  the 
direction  which  principally  arrested  him ;  and  once  at  least 
he  felt  certain  that  his  eyes  encountered  those  of  the  young 
girl,  A  shock  passed  over  his  body,  and  he  saw  all  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow.  What  would  he  not  have  given  to 
overhear  what  passed  between  the  Vandeleurs?  What  would 
he  not  have  given  for  the  courage  to  take  up  his  opera-glass 
and  steadily  inspect  their  attitude  and  expression.^  There, 
for  aught  he  knew,  his  whole  life  was  being  decided — and  he 
not  able  to  interfere,  not  able  even  to  follow  the  debate,  but 
condemned  to  sit  and  suffer  where  he  was,  in  impotent 
anxiety. 

At  last  the  act  came  to  an  end.  The  curtain  fell,  and  the 
people  around  him  began  to  leave  their  places  for  the  inter- 
val. It  was  only  natural  that  he  should  follow  their  example ; 
and  if  he  did  so,  it  was  not  only  natural  but  necessary  that 
he  should  pass  immediately  in  front  of  the  box  in  question. 
Summoning  all  his  courage,  but  keeping  his  ej'es  lowered, 
Francis  drew  near  the  spot.  His  progress  was  slow,  for  the 
old  gentleman  before  him  moved  with  incredible  deliberation, 
wheezing  as  he  went.  What  was  he  to  do.''  Should  he  ad- 
dress the  Vandeleurs  by  name  as  he  went  by.''  Should  he 
take  the  flower  from  his  buttonhole  and  throw  it  into  the 
box.''  Should  he  raise  his  face  and  direct  one  long  and 
aff^ectionate  look  upon  the  lady  who  was  either  his  sister  or 
his  betrothed.''  As  he  found  himself  thus  struggling  among 
so  many  alternatives,  he  had  a  vision  of  his  old  equable  exist- 
ence in  the  bank,  and  was  assailed  by  a  thought  of  regret 
for  the  past. 

By  this  time  he  had  arrived  directly  opposite  the  box ; 
and  although  he  was  still  undetermined  what  to  do  or 
whether  to  do  anything,  he  turned  his  head  and  lifted  his 
eyes.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so  than  he  uttered  a  cry  of 
disappointment  and  remained  rooted  to  the  spot.  The  box 
was  empty.  During  his  slow  advance  Mr.  Vandeleur  and  his 
daughter  had  quietly  slipped  away. 

135 


NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS 

A  polite  person  in  his  rear  reminded  him  that  he  was  stop- 
ping the  path ;  and  he  moved  on  again  with  mechanical  foot- 
steps, and  suffered  the  crowd  to  carry  him  unresisting  out  of 
the  theatre.  Once  in  the  street,  the  pressure  ceasing,  he  came 
to  a  halt,  and  the  cool  night  air  speedily  restored  him  to  the 
possession  of  his  faculties.  He  was  surprised  to  find  that 
his  head  ached  violently,  and  that  he  remembered  not  one 
word  of  the  two  acts  which  he  had  witnessed.  As  the  excite- 
ment wore  away,  it  was  succeeded  by  an  overweening  appe- 
tite for  sleep,  and  he  hailed  a  cab  and  drove  to  his  lodging 
in  a  state  of  extreme  exhaustion  and  some  disgust  of  life. 

Next  morning  he  lay  in  wait  for  Miss  Vandeleur  on  her 
road  to  market,  and  by  eight  o'clock  beheld  her  stepping 
down  a  lane.  She  was  simply,  and  even  poorly,  attired ;  but 
in  the  carriage  of  her  head  and  body  there  was  something 
flexible  and  noble  that  would  have  lent  distinction  to  the 
meanest  toilette.  Even  her  basket,  so  aptly  did  she  carry  it, 
became  her  like  an  ornament.  It  seemed  to  Francis,  as  he 
slipped  into  a  doorway,  that  the  sunshine  followed  and  the 
shadows  fled  before  her  as  she  walked ;  and  he  was  conscious, 
for  the  first  time,  of  a  bird  singing  in  a  cage  above  the  lane. 

He  suffered  her  to  pass  the  doorway,  and  then,  coming 
forth  once  more,  addressed  her  by  name  from  behind. 

"  Miss  Vandeleur,"  said  he. 

She  turned  and,  when  she  saw  who  he  was,  became  deadly 
pale. 

"  Pardon  me,"  he  continued ;  "  Heaven  knows  I  had  no  will 
to  startle  you ;  and,  indeed,  there  should  be  nothing  startling 
in  the  presence  of  one  who  wishes  you  so  well  as  I  do.  And, 
believe  me,  I  am  acting  rather  from  necessity  than  choice. 
\Ve  have  many  things  in  common,  and  I  am  sadly  in  the 
dark.  There  is  much  that  I  should  be  doing,  and  my  hands 
are  tied.  I  do  not  know  even  what  to  feel,  nor  who  are  my 
friends  and  enemies." 

She  found  her  voice  with  an  effort. 

"  I  do  not  know  who  you  are,"  she  said. 

"  All,  yes !  Miss  Vandeleur,  you  do,"  returned  Francis ; 
"  better  than  I  do  myself.     Indeed  it  is  on  that,  above  all, 

136 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

that  I  seek  light.  Tell  me  what  you  know,"  he  pleaded. 
"  Tell  me  who  I  am,  who  you  are,  and  how  our  destinies  are 
intermixed.  Give  me  a  little  help  with  my  life,  Miss  Vande- 
leur — only  a  word  or  two  to  guide  me,  only  the  name  of  my 
father,  if  you  will — and  I  shall  be  grateful  and  content." 

"  I  will  not  attempt  to  deceive  you,"  she  rcpHed.  "  I 
know  who  you  are,  but  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  say." 

"  Tell  me,  at  least,  that  you  have  forgiven  my  presump- 
tion, and  I  shall  wait  with  all  the  patience  I  have,"  he  said. 
*'  If  I  am  not  to  know,  I  must  do  without.  It  is  cruel,  but  I 
can  bear  more  upon  a  push.  Only  do  not  add  to  my  troubles 
the  thought  that  I  have  made  an  enemy  of  you." 

"  You  did  only  what  was  natural,"  she  said,  "  and  I  have 
nothing  to   forgive  you.     Farewell." 

"  Is  it  to  be  farewell?  "  he  asked. 

"  Nay,  that  I  do  not  know  myself,"  she  answered.    "  Fare- 
vvell  for  the  present,  if  you  like." 
^  And  with  these  words  she  was  gone. 

Francis  returned  to  his  lodging  in  a  state  of  considerable 
commotion  of  mind.  He  made  the  most  trifling  progress 
with  his  Euclid  for  that  forenoon,  and  was  more  often  at  the 
window  than  at  his  improvised  writing-table.  But  beyond 
seeing  the  return  of  Miss  Vandeleur,  and  the  meeting  be- 
tween her  and  her  father,  who  was  smoking  a  Trichinopoli 
cigar  in  the  verandah,  there  was  nothing  notable  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  house  with  the  green  blinds  before  the  time 
of  the  midday  meal.  The  young  man  hastily  allayed  his 
appetite  in  a  neighboring  restaurant,  and  returned  with  the 
speed  of  unallayed  curiosity  to  the  house  in  the  Rue  Lepic. 
A  mounted  servant  was  leading  a  saddle-horse  to  and  fro 
before  the  garden  wall;  and  the  porter  of  Francis's  lodging 
was  smoking  a  pipe,  against  the  doorpost,  absorbed  in  con- 
templation of  the  livery  and  the  steeds. 

"  Look !  "  he  cried  to  the  young  man,  "  what  fine  cattle ! 
what  an  elegant  costume !  They  btlong  to  the  brother  of 
M.  de  Vandeleur,  who  is  now  within  upon  a  visit.  He  is  a 
great  man,  a  general,  in  your  country ;  and  you  doubtless 
know  him  well  by  reputation." 

137 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  I  confess,"  returned  Francis,  "  that  I  have  never 
heard  of  General  Vandeleur  before.  We  have  many  offi- 
cers of  that  grade,  and  my  pursuits  have  been  exclusively 
civil." 

"  It  is  he,"  replied  the  porter,  "  who  lost  the  great  dia- 
mond of  the  Indies.  Of  that  at  least  you  must  have  read 
often  In  the  papers." 

As  soon  as  Francis  could  disengage  himself  from  the  por- 
ter, he  ran  upstairs  and  hurried  to  the  window.  Immediately 
below  the  clear  space  In  the  chestnut  leaves,  the  two  gentle- 
men were  seated  In  conversation  over  a  cigar.  The  Gen- 
eral, a  red,  military-looking  man,  offered  some  traces  of  a 
family  resemblance  to  his  brother ;  he  had  something  of  the 
same  features,  something,  although  very  little,  of  the  same 
free  and  powerful  carriage ;  but  he  was  older,  smaller,  and 
more  common  In  air ;  his  likeness  was  that  of  a  caricature, 
and  he  seemed  altogether  a  poor  and  deblle  being  by  the  side 
of  the  Dictator. 

They  spoke  in  tones  so  low,  leaning  over  the  table  with 
every  appearance  of  Interest,  that  Francis  could  catch  no 
more  than  a  word  or  two  on  an  occasion.  For  as  little  as  he 
heard,  he  was  convinced  that  the  conversation  turned  upon 
himself  and  his  own  career ;  several  times  the  name  of  Scrym- 
geour  reached  his  ear,  for  it  was  easy  to  distinguish,  and 
still  more  frequently  he  fancied  he  could  distinguish  the 
name  Francis. 

At  length  the  General,  as  If  In  a  hot  anger,  broke  forth 
into  several  violent  exclamations. 

"  Francis  Vandeleur ! "  he  cried,  accentuating  the  last 
word.     "  Francis  Vandeleur,  I  tell  you." 

The  Dictator  made  a  movement  of  his  whole  body,  half 
affirmative,  half  contemptuous,  but  his  answer  was  inaudible 
to  the  young  man. 

Was  he  the  Francis  Vandeleur  In  question?  he  wondered. 
Were  they  discussing  the  name  under  which  he  was  to  be 
married  .f'  Or  was  the  whole  affair  a  dream  and  a  delusion  of 
his  own  conceit  and  self-absorption? 

After  another  interval  of  Inaudible  talk,  dissension  seemed 

138 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

again  to  arise  between  the  couple  underneath  the  chestnut, 
and  again  the  General  raised  his  voice  angrily  so  as  to  be 
audible  to  Francis. 

"My  wife?"  he  cried.  "I  have  done  with  my  wife  for 
good.  I  will  not  hear  her  name.  I  am  sick  of  her  very 
name." 

And  he  swore  aloud  and  beat  the  table  with  his  fist. 

The  Dictator  appeared,  by  his  gestures,  to  pacify  him 
after  a  paternal  fashion ;  and  a  little  after  he  conducted  him 
to  the  garden  gate.  The  pair  shook  hands  affectionately 
enough ;  but  as  soon  as  the  door  had  closed  behind  his  visitor, 
John  Vandeleur  fell  into  a  fit  of  laughter  which  sounded 
unkindly  and  even  devilish  in  the  ears  of  Francis  Scrj^m- 
geour. 

So  another  day  had  passed,  and  little  more  learnt.  But 
the  young  man  remembered  that  the  morrow  was  Tuesday, 
and  promised  himself  some  curious  discoveries ;  all  might  be 
well,  or  all  might  be  ill ;  he  was  sure,  at  least,  to  glean  some 
curious  information,  and,  perhaps,  by  good  luck,  get  at  the 
heart  of  the  mystery  which  surrounded  his  father  and  his 
family. 

As  the  hour  of  the  dinner  drew  near  many  preparations 
were  made  in  the  garden  of  the  house  with  the  green  blinds. 
The  table  which  was  partly  visible  to  Francis  through  the 
chestnut  leaves  was  destined  to  serve  as  a  sideboard,  and  car- 
ried relays  of  plates  and  the  materials  for  salad:  the  other, 
which  was  almost  entirely  concealed,  had  been  set  apart  for 
the  diners,  and  Francis  could  catch  glimpses  of  white  cloth 
and  silver  plate. 

Mr.  RoUes  arrived,  punctual  to  the  minute ;  he  looked  like 
a  man  upon  his  guard,  and  spoke  low  and  sparingly.  The 
Dictator,  on  the  other  hand,  appeared  to  enjoy  an  unusual 
flow  of  spirits ;  his  laugh,  which  was  youthful  and  pleasant 
to  hear,  sounded  frequently  from  the  garden;  by  the  modu- 
lation and  the  changes  of  his  voice  it  was  obvious  that  he 
told  many  droll  stories  and  imitated  the  accents  of  a  variety 
of  different  nations ;  and  before  he  and  the  young  clergyman 
had  finished  their  vermouth  all  feeling  of  distrust  was  at  an 

139 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

end,  and  they  were  talking  together  like  a  pair  of  school 
companions. 

At  length  Miss  Vandeleur  made  her  appearancej  carrying 
the  soup-tureen.  Mr.  Rolles  ran  to  offer  her  assistance, 
which  she  laughingly  refused;  and  there  was  an  interchange 
of  pleasantries  among  the  trio  which  seemed  to  have  refer- 
ence to  this  primitive  manner  of  waiting  by  one  of  the 
company. 

"  One  is  more  at  one's  ease,"  Mr.  Vandeleur  was  heard  to 
declare. 

Next  moment  they  were  all  three  in  their  places,  and 
Francis  could  see  as  little  as  he  could  hear  of  what  passed ; 
but  the  dinner  seemed  to  go  merrily ;  there  was  a  perpetual 
babble  of  voices  and  sound  of  knives  and  forks  below  the 
chestnut ;  and  Francis,  who  had  no  more  than  a  roll  to  gnaw, 
was  affected  with  envy  by  the  comfort  and  deliberation  of 
the  meal.  The  party  lingered  over  one  dish  after  another, 
and  then  over  a  delicate  dessert,  with  a  bottle  of  old  wine 
carefully  uncorked  by  the  hand  of  the  Dictator  himself.  As 
it  began  to  grow  dark  a  lamp  was  set  upon  the  table  and  a 
couple  of  candles  on  the  sideboard ;  for  the  night  was  per- 
fectly pure,  starry,  and  windless.  Light  overflowed  besides 
from  the  door  and  window  in  the  verandah,  so  that  the  gar- 
den was  fairly  illuminated  and  the  leaves  twinkled  in  the 
darkness. 

For  perhaps  the  tenth  time  Miss  Vandeleur  entered  the 
house ;  and  on  this  occasion  she  returned  with  the  coffee  tray, 
which  she  placed  upon  the  sideboard.  At  the  same  moment 
her  father  rose  from  his  seat. 

"  The  coffee  is  my  province,"  Francis  heard  him  say. 

And  next  moment  he  saw  his  supposed  father  standing  bj? 
the  sideboard  in  the  light  of  the  candles. 

Talking  over  his  shoulder  all  the  while,  Mr.  Vandeleur 
poured  out  two  cups  of  the  brown  stimulant,  and  then,  by  a 
rapid  act  of  prestidigitation,  emptied  the  contents  of  a  tiny 
phial  into  the  smaller  one  of  the  two.  The  thing  was  so 
swiftly  done  that  even  Francis,  who  looked  straight  into  his 
face,  had  hardly  time  to  perceive  the  movement  before  it  was 

14Q 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

completed.  And  next  instant,  and  still  laughing,  Mr.  Van- 
deleur  had  turned  again  towards  the  table  with  a  cup  in 
either  hand. 

"  We  have  done  with  this,"  said  he,  "  we  may  expect  our 
famous  Hebrew." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  depict  the  confusion  and  dis- 
tress of  Francis  Scrymgeour.  He  saw  foul  play  going  for- 
ward before  his  eyes,  and  he  felt  bound  to  interfere,  but 
knew  not  how.  It  might  be  a  mere  pleasantry,  and  then  how 
should  he  look  if  he  were  to  offer  an  unnecessary  warning.'' 
Or  again,  if  it  were  serious,  the  criminal  might  be  his  own 
father,  and  then  how  should  he  not  lament  if  he  were  to 
bring  ruin  on  the  author  of  his  days?  For  the  first  time  he 
became  conscious  of  his  own  position  as  a  spy.  To  wait 
inactive  at  such  a  juncture  and  with  such  a  conflict  of  senti- 
ments in  his  bosom  was  to  suffer  the  most  acute  torture;  he 
clung  to  the  bars  of  the  shutters,  his  heart  beat  fast  and 
with  irregularity,  and  he  felt  a  strong  sweat  break  forth 
upon  his  body. 

Several  minutes  passed. 

He  seemed  to  perceive  the  conversation  die  away  and 
grow  less  and  less  in  vivacity  and  volume;  but  still  no  sign 
of  any  alarming  or  even  notable  event. 

Suddenly  the  ring  of  a  glass  breaking  was  followed  by 
a  faint  and  dull  sound,  as  of  a  person  who  should  have 
fallen  forward  with  his  head  upon  the  table.  At  the  same 
moment  a  piercing  scream  rose  from  the  garden. 

"  What  have  you  done  ?  "  cried  Miss  Vandeleur.  "  He  Is 
dead ! " 

The  Dictator  replied  in, a  violent  whisper,  so  strong  and 
sibilant  that  every  word  was  audible  to  the  watcher  at  the 
window. 

"  Silence ! "  said  Mr.  Vandeleur ;  "  the  man  Is  as  well  as 
I  am.  Take  him  by  the  heels  whilst  I  carry  him  by  the 
shoulders." 

Francis  heard  Miss  Vandeleur  break  forth  into  a  passion 
of  tears. 

"  Do  you  hear  what  I  say  ?  "  resumed  the  Dictator,  In  the 

141, 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

same  tones.     "Or  do  you  wish  to  quarrel  with  me?     I  give 
you  your  choice,  Miss  Vandeleur." 

There  was  another  pause,  and  the  Dictator  spoke  again. 

"  Take  that  man  by  the  heels,"  he  said.  "  I  must  have 
him  brought  into  the  house.  If  I  were  a  little  younger,  I 
could  help  myself  against  the  world.  But  now  that  years 
and  dangers  are  upon  me  and  my  hands  are  weakened,  I 
must  turn  to  you  for  aid." 

"  It  is  a  crime,"  replied  the  girl. 

"  I  am  your  father,"  said  Mr.  Vandeleur. 

This  appeal  seemed  to  produce  its  effect.  A  scuffling 
noise  followed  upon  the  gravel,  a  chair  was  overset,  and 
then  Francis  saw  the  father  and  daughter  stagger  across 
the  walk  and  disappear  under  the  verandah,  bearing  the 
inanimate  body  of  Mr.  Rolles  embraced  about  the  knees  and 
shoulders.  The  young  clergyman  was  limp  and  pallid,  and 
his  head  rolled  upon  his  shoulders  at  every  step. 

Was  he  alive  or  dead.''  Francis,  in  spite  of  the  Dictator's 
declaration,  inclined  to  the  latter  view.  A  great  crime  had 
been  committed ;  a  great  calamity  had  fallen  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  the  house  with  the  green  blinds.  To  his  sur- 
prise, Francis  found  all  horror  for  the  deed  swallowed  up 
in  sorrow  for  a  girl  and  an  old  man  whom  he  judged  to  be 
in  the  height  of  peril.  A  tide  of  generous  feeling  swept  into 
his  heart;  he,  too,  would  help  his  father  against  man  and 
mankind,  against  fate  and  justice;  and  casting  open  the 
shutters  he  closed  his  eyes  and  threw  himself  with  out- 
stretched arms  into  the  foliage  of  the  chestnut. 

Branch  after  branch  slipped  from  his  grasp  or  broke  un- 
der his  weight;  then  he  caught  a  stalwart  bough  under  his 
armpit,  and  hung  suspended  for  a  second ;  and  then  he  let 
himself  drop  and  fell  heavily  against  the  table.  A  cry  of 
alarm  from  the  house  warned  him  that  his  entrance  had  not 
been  effected  unobserved.  He  recovered  himself  with  a  stag- 
ger, and  in  three  bounds  crossed  the  intervening  space  and 
stood  before  the  door  in  the  verandah. 

In  a  small  apartment,  carpeted  with  matting  and  sur- 
rounded by  glared  cabinets  full  of  rare  and  costly  curios, 

142 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

Mr.  Vandeleur  was  stooping  over  the  body  of  Mr.  Rolles. 
He  raised  himself  as  Francis  entered,  and  there  was  an  in- 
stantaneous passage  of  hands.  It  was  the  business  of  a 
second ;  as  fast  as  an  eye  can  wink  the  thing  was  done ;  the 
young  man  had  not  the  time  to  be  sure,  but  it  seemed  to  him 
as  if  the  Dictator  had  taken  something  from  the  curate's 
breast,  looked  at  it  for  the  least  fraction  of  time  as  it  lay  in 
his  hand,  and  then  suddenly  and  swiftly  passed  it  to  his 
daughter. 

All  this  was  over  while  Francis  had  still  one  foot  upon 
the  threshold,  and  the  other  raised  in  air.  The  next  instant 
he  was  on  his  knees  to  Mr.  Vandeleur. 

"  Father ! "  he  cried.  "  Let  me  too  help  you.  I  will  do 
what  you  wish  and  ask  no  questions ;  I  will  obey  you  with 
my  life;  treat  me  as  a  son,  and  you  will  find  I  have  a  son's 
devotion." 

A  deplorable  explosion  of  oaths  was  the  Dictator's  first 
reply. 

"  Son  and  Father?  "  he  cried.     "  Father  and  son?    What 

d d  unnatural  comedy  is  all  this?     How  do  you  come  in 

my  garden?  What  do  you  want?  And  who,  in  God's  name, 
are  you?  " 

Francis,  with  a  stunned  and  shamefaced  aspect,  got  upon 
his  feet  again,  and  stood  in  silence. 

Then  a  light  seemed  to  break  upon  Mr.  Vandeleur,  and 
he  laughed  aloud. 

"  I  see,"  cried  he.  "  It  is  the  Scrymgeour.  Very  well, 
Mr.  Scrymgeour.  Let  me  tell  you  in  a  few  words  how  3'ou 
stand.  You  have  entered  my  private  residence  by  force,  or 
perhaps  by  fraud,  but  certainly  with  no  encouragement  from 
me;  and  you  come  at  a  moment  of  some  annoyance,  a  guest 
having  fainted  at  my  table,  to  besiege  me  with  your  pro- 
testations. You  are  no  son  of  mine.  You  are  my  brother's 
bastard  by  a  fishwife,  if  you  want  to  knoAV.  I  regard  you 
with  an  indiiference  closely  bordering  on  aversion ;  and  from 
what  I  now  see  of  your  conduct,  I  judge  your  mind  to  be 
exactly  suitable  to  your  exterior.  I  recommend  you  these 
mortifying  reflections  for  your  leisure ;  and,  in  the  meantime, 

143 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

let  me  beseech  you  to  rid  us  of  your  presence.  If  I  were  not 
occupied,"  added  the  Dictator,  with  a  terrifying  oath,  "  I 
should  give  you  the  unholiest  drubbing  ere  you  went !  " 

Francis  hstened  in  profound  humihation.  He  would  have 
fled  had  it  been  possible;  but  as  he  had  no  means  of  leaving 
the  residence  into  which  he  had  so  unfortunately  penetrated, 
he  could  do  no  more  than  stand  foolishly  where  he  was. 

It  was  Miss  Vandeleur  who  broke  the  silence. 

"  Father,"  she  said,  "  you  speak  in  anger.  Mr.  Scrym- 
geour  may  have  been  mistaken,  but  he  meant  well  and 
kindly." 

"  Thank  you  for  speaking,"  returned  the  Dictator.  "  You 
remind  me  of  some  other  observations  which  I  hold  it  a  point 
of  honor  to  make  to  Mr.  Scrymgeour.  My  brother,"  he 
continued,  addressing  the  young  man,  "  has  been  foolish 
enough  to  give  you  an  allowance ;  he  was  foolish  enough  and 
presumptuous  enough  to  propose  a  match  between  you  and 
this  jroung  lady.  You  were  exhibited  to  her  two  nights  ago ; 
and  I  rejoice  to  tell  you  that  she  rejected  the  Idea  with  dis- 
gust. Let  me  add  that  I  have  considerable  Influence  with 
your  father ;  and  it  shall  not  be  my  fault  if  you  are  not  beg- 
gared of  your  allowance  and  sent  back  to  your  scrivening 
ere  the  week  be  out." 

The  tones  of  the  old  man's  voice  were,  if  possible,  more 
wounding  than  his  language;  Francis  felt  himself  exposed 
to  the  most  cruel,  blighting,  and  unbearable  contempt;  his 
head  turned,  and  he  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  uttering 
at  the  same  time  a  tearless  sob  of  agony.  But  Miss  Vande- 
leur once  again  Interfered  in  his  behalf. 

"  Mr.  Scrymgeour,"  she  said,  speaking  in  clear  and  even 
tones,  "  you  must  not  be  concerned  at  my  father's  harsh  ex- 
pressions. I  felt  no  disgust  for  you ;  on  the  contrary,  I 
asked  an  opportunity  to  make  your  better  acquaintance.  As 
for  what  has  passed  to-night,  believe  me,  it  has  filled  my 
mind  with  both  pity  and  esteem." 

Just  then  Mr.  Rolles  made  a  convulsive  movement  with 
his  arm,  which  convinced  Francis  that  he  was  only  drugged, 
and  was  beginning  to  throw  off'  the  influence  of  the  opiate, 

14i 


THE    RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

Mr.  Vandeleur  stooped  over  him  and  examined  his  face  for 
an  Instant. 

"  Come,  come !  "  cried  he,  raising  his  head.  "  Let  there  be 
an  end  of  this.  And,  since  you  are  so  pleased  with  his  con- 
duct. Miss  Vandeleur,  take  a  candle  and  show  the  bastard 
out." 

The  young  lady  hastened  to  obey. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Francis,  as  soon  as  he  was  alone  with 
her  in  the  garden.  "  I  thank  you  from  my  soul.  This  has 
been  the  bitterest  evening  of  my  life,  but  it  will  have  always 
one  pleasant  recollection." 

"  I  spoke  as  I  felt,"  she  replied,  "  and  In  justice  to  you. 
It  made  my  heart  sorry  that  you  should  be  so  unkindly 
used." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  garden  gate;  and  Miss 
Vandeleur,  having  set  the  candle  on  the  ground,  was  already 
unfastening  the  bolts. 

"  One  word  more,"  said  Francis.  *'  This  Is  not  for  the 
last  time— I  shall  see  you  again,  shall  I  not?  " 

"  Alas !  "  she  answered.  "  You  have  heard  my  father. 
What  can  I  do  but  obey  ?  " 

"  Tell  me  at  least  that  it  Is  not  with  your  consent,"  re- 
turned Francis ;  "  tell  me  that  you  have  no  wish  to  see  the 
last  of  jne." 

"  Indeed,"  replied  she,  "  I  have  none.  You  seem  to  me 
both  brave  and  honest." 

"  Then,"  said  Francis,  "  give  me  a  keepsake." 

She  paused  for  a  moment,  with  her  hand  upon  the  key; 
for  the  various  bars  and  bolts  were  all  undone,  and  there 
was  nothing  left  but  to  open  the  lock. 

"  If  I  agree,"  she  said,  "  will  you  promise  to  do  as  I  tell 
you  from  point  to  point?  " 

"Can  you  ask?"  replied  Francis.  "I  would  do  so  will- 
ingly on  your  bare  word." 

She  turned  the  key  and  threw  open  the  door. 

"  Be  it  so,"  said  she.  "  You  do  not  know  what  you  ask, 
but  be  It  so.  Whatever  you  hear,"  she  continued,  "  whatever 
happens,  do  not  return  to  this  house;  hurry  fast  until  you 

145 


]\^EW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

reach  the  lighted  and  populous  quarters  of  the  city ;  even 
there  be  upon  your  guard.  You  are  in  a  greater  danger  than 
you  fancy.  Promise  me  you  will  not  so  much  as  look  at  my 
keepsake  until  you  are  in  a  place  of  safety." 

"  I  promise,"  replied  Francis. 

She  put  something  loosely  wrapped  in  a  handkerchief  Into 
the  young  man's  hand;  and  at  the  same  time,  with  more 
strength  than  he  could  have  anticipated,  she  pushed  him  into 
the  street. 

"  Now,  run !  "  she  cried. 

He  heard  the  door  closed  behind  him,  and  the  noise  of 
the  bolts  being  replaced. 

"  My  faith,"  said  he,  "  since  I  have  promised !  " 

And  he  tool^  to  his  heels  down  the  lane  that  leads  Into  the 
Rue  Ravignan. 

He  was  not  fifty  paces  from  the  house  with  the  green 
blinds  when  the  most  diabolical  outcry  suddenly  arose  out 
of  the  stillness  of  the  night.  Mechanically  he  stood  still; 
another  passenger  followed  his  example ;  in  the  neighboring 
floors  he  saw  people  crowding  to  the  windows ;  a  conflagra- 
tion could  not  have  produced  more  disturbance  in  this  empty 
quarter.  And  yet  it  seemed  to  be  all  the  work  of  a  single 
man,  roaring  between  grief  and  rage,  like  a  lioness  robbed 
of  her  whelps ;  and  Francis  was  surprised  and  alarmed  to 
hear  his  own  name  shouted  with  EngHsh  imprecations  to 
the  wind. 

His  first  movement  was  to  return  to  the  house ;  his  second, 
as  he  remembered  Miss  Vandeleur's  advice,  to  continue  his 
flight  with  greater  expedition  than  before;  and  he  was  in 
the  act  of  turning  to  put  his  thought  in  action,  when  the 
Dictator,  bareheaded,  bawling  aloud,  his  white  hair  blowing 
about  his  head,  shot  past  him  like  a  ball  out  of  the  cannon's 
mouth,  and  went  careering  down  the  street. 

*'  That  was  a  close  shave,"  thought  Francis  to  himself. 
"  What  he  wants  with  me,  and  why  he  should  be  so  disturbed, 
I  cannot  think;  but  he  is  plainly  not  good  company  for  the 
moment,  and  I  cannot  do  better  than  follow  Miss  Vandeleur's 
advice." 

146 


THE    RAJAH'S    DIAINIOND 

So  saying,  he  turned  to  retrace  his  steps,  thinking  to 
double  and  descend  by  the  Rue  Lepic  itself  while  his  pursuer 
should  continue  to  follow  after  him  on  the  other  line  of 
street.  The  plan  was  ill-advised:  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he 
should  have  taken  his  seat  in  the  nearest  cafe,  and  waited 
there  until  the  first  heat  of  the  pursuit  was  over.  But  be- 
sides that  Francis  had  no  experience  and  little  natural  apti- 
tude for  the  small  war  of  private  life,  he  was  so  unconscious 
of  any  evil  on  his  part,  that  he  saw  nothing  to  fear  beyond 
a  disagreeable  interview.  And  to  disagreeable  interviews  he 
felt  he  had  already  served  his  apprenticeship  that  evening; 
nor  could  he  suppose  that  Miss  Vandeleur  had  left  anything 
unsaid.  Indeed,  the  young  man  was  sore  both  in  body  and 
mind — the  one  was  all  bruised,  the  other  was  full  of  smart- 
ing arrows ;  and  he  owned  to  himself  that  Mr.  Vandeleur  was 
master  of  a  very  deadly  tongue. 

The  thought  of  his  bruises  reminded  him  that  he  had  not 
only  come  without  a  hat,  but  that  his  clothes  had  consider- 
ably suffered  in  his  descent  through  the  chestnut.  At  the 
first  magazine  he  purchased  a  cheap  wideawake,  and  had  the 
disorder  of  his  toilet  summarily  repaired.  The  keepsake, 
still  rolled  in  the  handkerchief,  he  thrust  in  the  meanwhile 
into  his  trousers  pocket. 

Not  many  steps  beyond  the  shop  he  was  conscious  of  a 
sudden  shock,  a  hand  upon  his  throat,  an  infuriated  face 
close  to  his  own,  and  an  open  mouth  bawling  curses  in  his 
ear.  The  Dictator,  having  found  no  trace  of  his  quarry, 
was  returning  by  the  other  way.  Francis  was  a  stalwart 
young  fellow ;  but  he  was  no  match  for  his  adversary 
whether  in  strength  or  skill;  and  after  a  few  ineffectual 
struggles  he  resigned  himself  entirely  to  his  captor. 

"  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?  " 

"  We  will  talk  of  that  at  home,"  returned  the  Dictator, 
grimly. 

And  he  continued  to  march  the  young  man  up  hill  in  the 
direction  of  the  house  with  the  screen  blinds. 

But  Francis,  although  he  no  longer  struggled,  was  only 
waiting  an  opportunity  to  make  a  bold  push  for  freedom. 

147 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

With  a  sudden  jerk  he  left  the  collar  of  his  coat  In  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Vandeleur,  and  once  more  made  off  at  his  best  speed 
in  the  direction  of  the  Boulevards. 

The  tables  were  now  turned.  If  the  Dictator  was  the 
stronger,  Francis,  in  the  top  of  his  youth,  was  the  more 
fleet  of  foot,  and  he  had  soon  effected  his  escape  among  the 
crowds.  Relieved  for  a  moment,  but  with  a  growing  senti- 
ment of  alarm  and  wonder  in  his  mind,  he  walked  briskly 
until  he  debouched  upon  the  Place  de  I'Opera,  lit  up  like  day 
with  electric  lamps. 

"  This,  at  least,"  thought  he,  "  should  satisfy  Miss 
Vandeleur." 

And  turning  to  his  right  along  the  Boulevards,  he  entered 
the  Cafe  Americain  and  ordered  some  beer.  It  was  both  late 
and  early  for  the  majority  of  the  frequenters  of  the  estab- 
lishment. Only  two  or  three  persons,  all  men,  were  dotted 
here  and  there  at  separate  tables  in  the  hall ;  and  Francis  was 
too  much  occupied  by  his  own  thoughts  to  observe  their 
presence. 

He  drew  the  handkerchief  from  his  pocket.  The  object 
wrapped  in  It  proved  to  be  a  morocco  case,  clasped  and 
ornamented  in  gilt,  which  opened  by  means  of  a  spring,  and 
disclosed  to  the  horrified  young  man  a  diamond  of  monstrous 
bigness  and  extraordinary  brilliancy.  The  circumstance  was 
so  inexplicable,  the  value  of  the  stone  was  plainly  so  enor- 
mous, that  Francis  sat  staring  into  the  open  casket  without 
movement,  without  conscious  thought,  like  a  man  stricken 
suddenly  with  idiocy. 

A  hand  was  laid  upon  his  shoulder,  lightly  but  firmly,  and 
a  quiet  voice,  which  yet  had  in  it  the  ring  of  command,  ut- 
tered these  words  in  his  ear: — 

"  Close  the  casket,  and  compose  your  face." 

Looking  up,  he  beheld  a  man,  still  young,  of  an  urbane 
and  tranquil  presence,  and  dressed  with  rich  simplicity.  This 
personage  had  risen  from  a  neighboring  table,  and  bringing 
his  glass  with  him,  had  taken  a  seat  beside  Francis. 

"  Close  the  casket,"  replied  the  stranger,  "  and  put  It 
quietly  back  into  your  pocket,  where  I  feel  persuaded  it 

148 


I 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

should  never  have  been.  Try,  if  you  please,  to  throw  off 
your  bewildered  air,  and  act  as  though  I  were  one  of  your 
acquaintances  whom  you  had  met  by  chance.  So !  Touch 
glasses  with  me.  That  is  better.  I  fear,  sir,  you  must  be 
an  amateur." 

And  the  stranger  pronounced  these  last  words  with  a 
smile  of  peculiar  meaning,  leaned  back  in  his  seat  and  en- 
joyed a  deep  inhalation  of  tobacco. 

"  For  God's  sake,"  said  Francis,  "  tell  me  who  you  are 
and  what  this  means?  Why  I  should  obey  your  most  un- 
usual suggestions  I  am  sure  I  know  not;  but  the  truth  is,  I 
have  fallen  this  evening  into  so  many  perplexing  adventures, 
and  all  I  meet  conduct  themselves  so  strangely,  that  I  think 
I  must  either  have  gone  mad  or  wandered  into  another  planet. 
Your  face  inspires  me  with  confidence;  you  seem  wise,  good, 
and  experienced;  tell  mc,  for  Heaven's  sake,  why  you  accost 
me  in  so  odd  a  fashion?  " 

"  All  in  due  time,"  replied  the  stranger.  "  But  I  have 
the  first  hand,  and  you  must  begin  by  telling  me  how  the 
Rajah's  Diamond  is  in  your  possession." 

"  The  Rajah's  Diamond!  " 

*'  I  would  not  speak  so  loud,  if  I  were  you,"  returned  the 
other.  "  But  most  certainly  you  have  the  Rajah's  Diamond 
in  your  pocket.  I  have  seen  and  handled  it  a  score  of  times 
in  Sir  Thomas  Vandeleur's  collection." 

"  Sir  Thomas  Vandeleur !     The  General !     My  father ! " 

*' Your  father?"  repeated  the  stranger.  "I  was  not 
aware  the  General  had  any  family." 

"  I  am  illegitimate,  sir,"  replied  Francis  with  a  flush. 

The  other  bowed  with  gravity.  It  was  a  respectful  bow, 
as  of  a  man  silently  apologizing  to  his  equal;  and  Francis 
felt  relieved  and  comforted,  he  scarce  knew  why.  The 
society  of  this  person  did  him  good ;  he  seemed  to  touch  firm 
ground;  a  strong  feeling  of  respect  grew  up  in  his  bosom, 
and  mechanically  he  removed  his  wide-awake  as  though  in 
the  presence  of  a  superior. 

"  I  perceive,"  said  the  stranger,  "  that  your  adventures 
have  not  all  been  peaceful.     Your  collar  is  torn,  your  face 

149 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

is  scratched,  you  have  a  cut  upon  your  temple;  you  will, 
perhaps,  pardon  my  curiosity  when  I  ask  you  to  explain 
how  you  came  by  these  injuries  and  how  you  happen 
to  have  stolen  property  to  an  enormous  value  in  your 
pocket." 

"  I  must  differ  from  you !  "  returned  Francis,  hotly.  "  I 
possess  no  stolen  property.  And  if  you  refer  to  the  dia- 
mond, it  was  given  to  me  not  an  hour  ago  by  Miss  Vandeleur 
in  the  Rue  Lepic." 

"  By  Miss  Vandeleur  of  the  Rue  Lepic ! "  repeated  the 
other.  "  You  interest  me  more  than  you  suppose.  Pray 
continue." 

"  Heavens !  "  cried  Francis. 

His  memory  had  made  a  sudden  bound.  He  had  seen  Mr. 
Vandeleur  take  an  article  from  the  breast  of  his  drugged 
visitor,  and  that  article,  he  was  now  persuaded,  was  a  mo- 
rocco case. 

"  You  have  a  light.?  "  inquired  the  stranger. 

"  Listen,"  said  Francis.  "  I  know  not  who  you  are,  but 
I  believe  you  to  be  worthy  of  confidence  and  helpful;  I  find 
myself  in  strange  waters ;  I  must  have  counsel  and  support, 
and  since  you  invite  me  I  shall  tell  you  all." 

And  he  briefly  recounted  his  experiences  since  the  day 
when  he  was  summoned  from  the  bank  by  his  lawyer. 

"  Yours  is  indeed  a  remarkable  history,"  said  the  stranger, 
after  the  young  man  had  made  an  end  of  his  narrative ; 
"  and  your  position  is  full  of  difficulty  and  peril.  Many 
would  counsel  you  to  seek  out  your  father,  and  give  the 
diamond  to  him ;  but  I  have  other  views.    Waiter !  "  he  cried. 

The  waiter  drew  near. 

"  Will  you  ask  the  manager  to  speak  with  me  a  moment.?  " 
said  he;  and  Francis  observed  once  more,  both  in  his  tone 
and  manner,  the  evidence  of  a  habit  of  command. 

The  waiter  withdrew,  and  returned  in  a  moment  with  the 
manager,  who  bowed  with  obsequious  respect. 

"What,'*  said  he,  "  can  I  do  to  serve  you.?  " 

"  Have  the  goodness,"  replied  the  stranger,  indicating 
Francis,  '*  to  tell  this  gentleman  my  name.'*' 

150 


THE   RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

••  You  have  the  honor,  sir,"  said  the  functionary,  address- 
ing young  Scrymgeour,  "  to  occupy  the  same  table  with  His 
Highness  Prince  Florizel  of  Bohemia." 

Francis  rose  with  precipitation,  and  made  a  grateful 
reverence  to  the  Prince,  who  bade  him  resume  his  seat. 

"  I  thank  you,"  said  Florizel,  once  more  addressing  the 
functionary ;  "  I  am  sorry  to  have  deranged  you  for  so 
small  a  matter." 

And  he  dismissed  him  with  a  movement  of  his  hand. 

"  And  now,"  added  the  Prince,  turning  to  Francis,  "  give 
me  the  diamond." 

Without  a  word  the  casket  was  handed  over. 

"  You  have  done  right,"  said  Florizel ;  "  your  sentiments 
have  properly  inspired  you,  and  you  will  live  to  be  grateful 
for  the  misfortunes  of  to-night.  A  man,  Mr.  Scrymgeour, 
may  fall  into  a  thousand  perplexities,  but  if  his  heart  be 
upright  and  his  intelligence  unclouded,  he  will  issue  from 
them  all  without  dishonor.  Let  your  mind  be  at  rest ;  your 
affairs  are  in  my  hands ;  and  with  the  aid  of  Heaven  I  am 
strong  enough  to  bring  them  to  a  good  end.  Follow  me,  if 
you  please,  to  my  carriage." 

So  saying  the  Prince  arose  and,  having  left  a  piece  of 
gold  for  the  waiter,  conducted  the  young  man  from  the 
cafe  and  along  the  Boulevard  to  where  an  unpretentious 
brougham  and  a  couple  of  servants  cut  of  livery  awaited  his 
arrival. 

"  This  carriage,"  said  he,  "  is  at  your  disposal ;  collect 
your  baggage  as  rapidly  as  you  can  make  it  convenient,  and 
my  servants  will  conduct  you  to  a  villa  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Paris  where  you  can  wait  in  some  degree  of  comfort  until 
I  have  had  time  to  arrange  your  situation.  You  will  find 
there  a  pleasant  garden,  a  library  of  good  authors,  a  cook, 
a  cellar,  and  some  good  cigars,  which  I  recommend  to  your 
attention.  Jerome,"  he  added,  turning  to  one  of  the  serv- 
ants, "  you  have  heard  what  I  say ;  I  leave  ]\Ir.  Scrymgeour 
in  your  charge ;  you  will,  I  know,  be  careful  of  my  friend." 

Francis  uttered  some  broken  phrases  of  gratitude. 

"  It  will  be  time  eaough  to  thank  me,"  said  the  Prlace, 

151 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  when  you  are  acknowledged  by  your  father  and  married 
to  Miss  Vandeleur." 

And  with  that  the  Prince  turned  away  and  strolled 
leisurely  in  the  direction  of  Montmartre.  He  hailed  the  first 
passing  cab,  gave  an  address,  and  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
afterwards,  having  discharged  the  driver  some  distance 
lower,  he  was  knocking  a/t  Mr.  Vandeleur's  garden  gate. 

It  was  opened  with  singular  precautions  by  the  Dictator 
in  person. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  You  must  pardon  me  this  late  visit,  Mr.  Vandeleur," 
replied  the  Prince. 

"  Your  Highness  is  always  welcome,"  returned  Mr.  Van- 
deleur, stepping  back. 

The  Prince  profited  by  the  open  space,  and  without  wait- 
ing for  his  host  walked  right  into  the  house  and  opened  the 
door  of  the  salon.  Two  people  were  seated  there ;  one  was 
Miss  Vandeleur,  who  bore  the  marks  of  weeping  about  her 
eyes,  and  was  still  shaken  from  time  to  time  by  a  sob ;  in  the 
other  the  Prince  recognized  the  young  man  who  had  con- 
sulted him  on  literary  matters  about  a  month  before,  in  a 
club  smoking-room. 

"  Good  evening.  Miss  Vandeleur,"  said  Florizel ;  "  you 
look  fatigued.  Mr.  Rolles,  I  believe?  I  hope  you  have 
profited  by  the  study  of  Gaboriau,  Mr.  Rolles." 

But  the  young  clergyman's  temper  was  too  much  em- 
bittered for  speech;  and  he  contented  himself  with  bowing 
stiffly,  and  continued  to  gnaw  his  lip. 

"  To  what  good  wind,"  said  Mr.  Vandeleur,  following  his 
guest,  "  am  I  to  attribute  the  honor  of  your  Highness's 
presence?  " 

"  I  am  come  on  business,"  returned  the  Prince ;  "  on  bus- 
iness with  you ;  as  soon  as  that  is  settled  I  shall  request  Mr. 
Rolles  to  accompany  me  for  a  walk.  Mr.  Rolles,"  he  added, 
with  severity,  "  let  me  remind  you  that  I  have  not  yet  sat 
down." 

The  clergyman  sprang  to  his  feet  with  an  apology; 
whereupon  the  Prince  took  an  armchair  beside  the  table, 

152 


THE   RAJAH'S    DIA]\IOND 

handed  his  hat  to  Mr.  Vandeleur,  his  cane  to  Mr.  RoUes,  and, 
leaving  them  standing  and  thus  menially  employed  upon  his 
service,  spoke  as  follows : — 

"  I  have  come  here,  as  I  said,  upon  business ;  but,  had  I 
come  looking  for  pleasure,  I  could  not  have  been  more  dis- 
pleased with  my  reception  nor  more  dissatisfied  with  my  com- 
pany. You,  sir,"  addressing  Mr.  Rolles,  "  you  have  treated 
your  superior  in  station  with  discourtesy ;  you,  Vandeleur, 
receive  me  with  a  smile,  but  you  know  right  well  that  your 
hands  are  not  yet  cleansed  from  misconduct.  I  do  not  desire 
to  be  interrupted,  sir,"  he  added,  imperiously ;  "  I  am  here 
to  speak,  and  not  to  listen ;  and  I  have  to  ask  you  to  hear 
me  with  respect,  and  to  obey  punctiKously.  At  the  earhest 
possible  date  your  daughter  shall  be  married  at  the  Embassy 
to  my  friend,  Francis  Scrymgeour,  your  brother's  acknowl- 
edged son.  You  will  oblige  me  by  offering  not  less  than  ten 
thousand  pounds  dowry.  For  yourself,  I  will  indicate  to 
you  in  writing  a  mission  of  some  importance  in  Siam  which 
I  destine  to  your  care.  And  now,  sir,  you  will  answer  me  in 
two  words  whether  or  not  you  agree  to  these  conditions." 

"  Your  Highness  will  pardon  me,"  said  Mr.  Vandeleur, 
*'  and  permit  me,  with  aU  respect,  to  submit  to  liim  two 
queries  ?  " 

*'  The  permission  is  granted,"  replied  the  Prince. 

"  Your  Highness,"  resumed  the  Dictator,  "  has  called 
Mr.  Scrymgeour  his  friend.  Believe  me,  had  I  known  that 
he  was  thus  honored,  I  should  have  treated  him  with  propor- 
tional respect." 

"  You  interrogate  adroitly,"  said  the  Prince ;  "  but  it  will 
not  serve  your  turn.  You  have  my  commands  ;  if  I  had  never 
seen  that  gentleman  before  to-night,  it  would  not  render 
them  less  absolute." 

"  Your  Highness  interprets  my  meaning  with  his  usual 
subtlety,"  returned  Vandeleur.  "  Once  more ;  I  have,  unfor- 
tunately, put  the  police  upon  the  track  of  Mr.  Scrymgeour 
on  a  charge  of  theft;  am  I  to  withdraw  or  to  uphold  the 
accusation?  " 

"  You  will  please  yourself,"  replied  Florizel.     "  The  ques- 

15S 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

tlon  is  one  between  your  conscience  and  the  laws  of  this 
land.  Give  me  my  hat;  and  you,  Mr.  Rolles,  give  me  my 
cane  and  follow  me.  Miss  Vandeleur,  I  wish  you  good  even- 
ing. I  judge,"  he  added  to  Vandeleur,  "  that  your  silence 
means  unqualified  assent." 

"  If  I  can  do  no  better,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  I  shall 
submit;  but  I  warn  you  openly  it  shall  not  be  without  a 
struggle." 

"  You  are  old,"  said  the  Prince ;  "  but  years  are  disgrace- 
ful to  the  wicked.  Your  age  is  more  unwise  than  the  youth 
of  others.  Do  not  provoke  me,  or  you  may  find  me  harder 
than  you  dream.  This  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  fallen 
across  your  path  in  anger ;  take  care  that  it  be  the  last." 

With  these  words,  motioning  the  clergyman  to  follow, 
Florizel  left  the  apartment  and  directed  his  steps  towards 
the  garden  gate;  and  fhe  Dictator,  following  with  a  candle, 
gave  them  light,  and  once  more  undid  the  elaborate  fasten- 
ings with  which  he  sought  to  protect  himself  from  intrusion. 

"  Your  daughter  is  no  longer  present,"  said  the  Prince, 
turning  on  the  threshold.  "  Let  me  tell  you  that  I  under- 
stand your  threats ;  and  you  nave  only  to  lift  your  hand  to 
bring  upon  yourself  sudden  and  irremediable  ruin." 

The  Dictator  made  no  reply ;  but  as  the  Prince  turned 
his  back  upon  him  in  the  lamplight  he  made  a  gesture  full 
of  menace  and  insane  fury ;  and  the  next  moment,  slipping 
round  a  corner,  he  was  running  at  full  speed  for  the  nearest 
cab-stand. 

{Here,  says  my  Arabian,  the  thread  of  events  is  fmally 
diverted  from  The  House  with  the  Green  Blinds.  One 
more  adventure,  he  adds,  and  we  have  done  with  The 
Rajah's  Diamond.  That  last  link  in  the  chain  is  known 
amiong  the  inhabitants  of  Bagdad  by  the  n^me  of  Thb 
Adventuee  of  Fbikce  Florizel  and  a  Detective.) 


154 


ADVENTUEE   01*  PRINCE  FLOEIZEL  AND   THE  DETECTIVB 

PRINCE  FLORIZEL  walked  with  Mr.  Rolles  to  the  door 
of  a  small  hotel  where  the  latter  resided.  They  spoke 
much  together,  and  the  clergyman  was  more  than  once 
affected  to  tears  by  the  mingled  severity  and  tenderness  of 
Florizel's  reproaches. 

"  I  have  made  ruin  of  my  life,"  he  said  at  last.  "  Help 
me ;  tell  me  what  I  am  to  do ;  I  have,  alas !  neither  the  virtues 
of  a  priest  nor  the  dexterity  of  a  rogue." 

"  Now  that  you  are  humbled,"  said  the  Prince,  "  I  com- 
mand no  longer;  the  repentant  have  to  do  with  God  and  not 
with  princes.  But  if  you  will  let  me  advise  you,  go  to 
Australia  as  a  colonist,  seek  menial  labor  in  the  open  air,  and 
try  to  forget  that  you  have  ever  been  a  clergyman,  or  that 
you  ever  set  eyes  on  that  accursed  stone." 

"  Accurst  indeed ! "  replied  Mr.  Rolles.  *'  Where  is  it 
now .''     What  further  hurt  is  it  not  working  for  mankind .''  " 

"  It  will  do  no  more  evil,"  returned  the  Prince.  "  It  is 
here  in  my  pocket.  And  this,"  he  added,  kindly,  "  will  show 
that  I  place  some  faith  in  your  penitence,  young  as  it  is." 

"  Suffer  me  to  touch  your  hand,"  -pleaded  Mr.  Rolles. 

"  No,"  rephed  Prince  Florizel,  "  not  yet." 

The  tone  in  which  he  uttered  these  last  words  was  eloquent 
in  the  ears  of  the  young  clergyman;  and  for  some  minutes 
after  the  Prince  had  turned  away  he  stood  on  the  threshold 
following  with  his  eyes  the  retreating  figure  and  invoking 
the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon  a  man  so  excellent  in  counsel. 

For  several  hours  the  Prince  walked  alone  in  unfrequented 
streets.  His  mind  was  full  of  concern ;  what  to  do  with  the 
diamond,  whether  to  return  it  to  its  owner,  whom  he  judged 
unworthy  of  this  rare  possession,  or  to  take  some  sweeping 
and  courageous  measure  and  put  it  out  of  the  reach  of  all 

155 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

mankind  at  once  and  for  ever  was  a  problem  too  grave  to 
be  decided  in  a  moment.  The  manner  in  which  it  had  come 
into  his  hands  appeared  manifestly  providential;  and  as  he 
took  out  the  jewel  and  looked  at  it  under  the  street  lamps, 
its  size  and  surprising  brilliancy  inclined  him  more  and  more 
to  think  of  it  as  an  unmixed  and  dangerous  evil  for  the 
world. 

"  God  help  me !  *'  he  thought ;  "  if  I  look  at  it  much  of  tener 
I  shall  begin  to  grow  covetous  myself." 

At  last,  though  still  uncertain  in  his  mind,  he  turned  his 
steps  towards  the  small  but  elegant  mansion  on  the  riverside, 
which  had  belonged  for  centuries  to  his  royal  family.  The 
arms  of  Bohemia  are  deeply  graved  over  the  door  and  upon 
the  tall  chimneys ;  passengers  have  a  look  into  a  green  court 
set  with  the  most  costly  flowers,  and  a  stork,  the  only  one  in 
Paris,  perches  on  the  gable  all  day  long  and  keeps  a  crowd 
before  the  house.  Grave  servants  are  seen  passing  to  and 
fro  within ;  and  from  time  to  time  the  great  gate  is  throv,^n 
open  and  a  carriage  rolls  below  the  arch.  For  many  reasons 
this  residence  was  especially  dear  to  the  heart  of  Prince 
Florizel;  he  never  drew  near  to  it  without  enjoying  that 
sentiment  of  home-coming  so  rare  in  the  lives  of  the  great; 
and  on  the  present  evening  he  beheld  its  tall  roof  and  mildly 
illuminated  windows  with  unfeigned  relief  and  satisfaction. 

As  he  was  approaching  the  postern  door  by  which  he 
always  entered  when  alone,  a  man  stepped  forth  from  the 
shadow  and  presented  himself  with  an  obeisance  in  the 
Prince's  path. 

"  I  have  the  honor  of  addressing  Prince  Florizel  of 
Bohemia?  "  said  he. 

"  Such  is  my  title,"  replied  the  Prince.  "  What  do  you 
want  with  me  ?  " 

"  I  am,"  said  the  man,  "  a  detective,  and  I  have  to  present 
your  Highness  with  this  billet  from  the  Prefect  of  Police." 

The  Prince  took  the  letter  and  glanced  it  through  by  the 
light  of  the  street  lamp.  It  was  highly  apologetic,  but  re- 
quested him  to  follow  the  bearer  to  the  Prefecture  without 
delay. 

156 


THE   RAJAH'S    DIAMOND 

"  In  short,"  said  Florizel,  "  I  am  arrested." 

"  Your  Highness,"  replied  the  officer,  "  nothing,  I  am 
certain,  could  be  further  from  the  intention  of  the  Prefect. 
You  will  observe  that  he  has  not  granted  a  warrant.  It  is 
mere  formality,  or  call  it,  if  you  prefer,  an  obligation  that 
your  Highness  lays  on  the  authorities." 

"  At  the  same  time,"  asked  the  Prince,  "  if  I  were  to  re- 
fuse to  follow  you?  " 

"  I  will  not  conceal  from  your  Highness  that  a  consider- 
able discretion  has  been  granted  me,"  replied  the  detective 
with  a  bow. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  cried  Florizel,  "  your  effrontery  con- 
founds me !  Yourself,  as  an  agent,  I  must  pardon  ;  but  your 
superiors  shall  dearly  smart  for  their  misconduct.  What, 
have  you  any  idea,  is  the  cause  of  this  impolitic  and  uncon- 
stitutional act.?  You  will  observe  that  I  have  as  yet  neither 
refused  nor  consented  and  much  may  depend  on  your  prompt 
and  ingenuous  answer.  Let  me  remind  you,  officer,  that  this 
is  an  affair  of  some  gravity." 

"  Your  Highness,"  said  the  detective  humbly,  "  General 
Vandeleur  and  his  brother  have  had  the  incredible  presump- 
tion to  accuse  you  of  theft.  The  famous  diamond,  they 
declare,  is  in  your  hands.  A  word  from  you  in  denial  will 
most  amply  satisfy  the  Prefect;  nay,  I  go  farther:  if  your 
Highness  would  so  far  honor  a  subaltern  as  to  declare  his 
ignorance  of  the  matter  even  to  myself,  I  should  ask  per- 
mission to  retire  upon  the  spot." 

Florizel,  up  to  the  last  moment,  had  regarded  his  adven- 
ture in  the  light  of  a  trifle,  only  serious  upon  international 
considerations.  At  the  name  of  Vandeleur  the  horrible  truth 
broke  upon  him  in  a  moment;  he  was  not  only  arrested,  but 
he  was  guilty.  This  was  not  only  an  annoying  incident — it 
was  a  peril  to  his  honor.  What  was  he  to  say.f*  What  was  he 
to  do.f*  The  Rajah's  Diamond  was  indeed  an  accursed  stone; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  to  be  the  last  victim  to  its 
influence. 

One  thing  was  certain.  He  could  not  give  the  required 
assurance  to  the  detective.     He  must  gain  time. 

157 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

His  hesitation  had  not  lasted  a  second. 

"  Be  it  so,"  said  he,  "  let  us  walk  together  to  the  l*re- 
fecture." 

The  man  once  more  bowed,  and  proceeded  to  follow  Flor- 
izel  at  a  respectful  distance  in  the  rear. 

"  Approach,"  said  the  Prince.  "  I  am  in  a  humor  to 
talk,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  now  I  look  at  you  again,  this  is 
not  the  first  time  that  we  have  met." 

"  I  count  it  an  honor,"  replied  the  officer,  "  that  your 
Highness  should  recollect  my  face.  It  is  eight  years  since 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  an  interview." 

"  To  remember  faces,"  returned  Florlzel,  "  is  as  much  a 
part  of  my  profession  as  it  is  of  yours.  Indeed,  rightly 
looked  upon,  a  Prince  and  a  detective  serve  in  the  same  corps. 
We  are  both  combatants  against  crime ;  only  mine  is  the 
more  lucrative  and  yours  the  more  dangerous  rank,  and  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  both  may  be  made  equally  honorable  to  a 
good  man.  I  had  rather,  strange  as  you  may  think  it,  be  a 
detective  of  character  and  parts  than  a  weak  and  ignoble 
sovereign." 

The  officer  was  overwhelmed. 

"  Your  Highness  returns  good  for  evil,"  said  he.  **  To 
an  act  of  presumption  he  replies  by  the  most  amiable  con- 
descension." 

"  How  do  you  know,"  replied  Florizel,  "  that  I  am  not 
seeking  to  corrupt  you?  " 

"  Heaven  preserve  me  from  the  temptation ! "  cried  the 
detective. 

"  I  applaud  your  answer,"  returned  the  Prince.  "  It  is 
that  of  a  wise  and  honest  man.  The  world  is  a  great  place, 
and  stocked  with  wealth  and  beauty,  and  there  is  no  limit  to 
the  rewards  that  may  be  offered.  Such  an  one  who  would 
refuse  a  million  of  money  may  sell  his  honor  for  an  empire 
or  the  love  of  a  woman ;  and  I  myself,  who  speak  to  you, 
have  seen  occasions  so  tempting,  provocations  so  irresistible 
to  the  strength  of  human  virtue,  that  I  have  been  glad  to 
tread  in  your  steps  and  recommend  myself  to  the  grace  of 
God.     It  is  thus,  thanks  to  that  modest  and  becoming  habit 

158 


THE   RAJAH'S    DIAJSIOND 

alone,"  he  added,  "  that  you  and  I  can  walk  this  town  to- 
gether with  untarnished  hearts." 

"  I  had  always  heard  that  you  were  brave,"  replied  the 
officer,  "  but  I  was  not  aware  that  you  were  wise  and  pious. 
You  speak  the  truth,  and  you  speak  it  with  an  accent  that 
moves  me  to  the  heart.  This  world  is  indeed  a  place  of 
trial." 

"  We  are  now,"  said  Florizel,  "  in  the  middle  of  the 
bridge.  Lean  your  elbows  on  the  parapet  and  look  over. 
As  the  water  rushing  below,  so  the  passions  and  complica- 
tions of  life  carry  away  the  honesty  of  weak  men.  Let  me 
tell  you  a  story." 

"  I  receive  your  Highness's  commands,"  replied  the  man. 

And,  imitating  the  Prince,  he  leaned  against  the  parapet, 
and  disposed  himself  to  listen.  The  city  was  already'  sunk 
in  slumber ;  had  it  not  been  for  the  infinity  of  lights  and  the 
outline  of  buildings  on  the  starry  sky,  they  might  have  been 
alone  beside  some  country  river. 

"  An  officer,"  began  Prince  Florizel,  "  a  man  of  courage 
and  conduct,  who  had  already  risen  by  merit  to  an  eminent 
rank,  and  won  not  only  admiration  but  respect,  visited,  in  an 
unfortunate  hour  for  his  peace  of  mind,  the  collections  of 
an  Indian  Prince.  Here  he  beheld  a  diamond  so  extraordi- 
nary for  size  and  beauty  that  from  that  instant  he  had  only 
one  desire  in  life:  honor,  reputation,  friendship,  the  love  of 
country,  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  all  for  this  lump  of 
sparkling  crystal.  For  three  years  he  served  this  semi-bar- 
barian potentate  as  Jacob  served  Laban ;  he  falsified  fron- 
tiers, he  connived  at  murders,  he  unjustly  condemned  and 
executed  a  brother  officer  who  had  the  misfortune  to  dis- 
please the  Raj  ah  by  some  honest  freedoms ;  lastly,  at  a  time 
of  great  danger  to  his  native  land,  he  betrayed  a  body  of  his 
fellow-soldiers  and  suffered  them  to  be  defeated  and  mas- 
sacred by  thousands.  In  the  end,  he  had  amassed  a  mag^ 
nificent  fortune,  and  brought  home  with  him  the  coveted 
diamond. 

"  Years  passed,"  continued  the  Prince,  "  and  at  length 
the  diamond  is  accidentally  lost.     It  falls  into  the  hands  of 

15Q 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

a  simple  and  laborious  youth,  a  student,  a  minister  of  God, 
just  entering  on  a  career  of  usefulness  and  even  distinction. 
Upon  him  also  the  spell  is  cast;  he  deserts  everything',  his 
holy  calling,  his  studies,  and  flees  with  the  gem  into  a  for- 
eign country.  The  officer  has  a  brother,  an  astute,  daring, 
unscrupulous  man,  who  learns  the  clergyman's  secrete  What 
does  he  do.''  Tell  his  brother,  inform  the  police?  No;  upon 
this  man  also  the  Satanic  charm  has  fallen;  he  must  have 
the  stone  for  himself.  At  the  risk  of  murder,  he  drugs  the 
young  priest  and  seizes  the  prey.  And  now,  by  an  accident 
which  is  not  important  to  my  moral,  the  jewel  passes  out  of 
his  custody  into  that  of  another,  who,  terrified  at  what  he 
sees,  gives  it  into  the  keeping  of  a  man  in  high  station  and 
above  reproach. 

"  The  officer's  name  is  Thomas  Vandeleur,"  continued 
Florizel.  "  The  stone  is  called  the  Rajah's  Diamond. 
And  " — suddenly  opening  his  hand — "  you  behold  it  here 
before  your  eyes." 

The  officer  started  back  with  a  cry. 

"  We  have  spoken  of  corruption,"  said  the  Prince.  "  To 
me  this  nugget  of  bright  crystal  is  as  loathsome  as  though 
it  were  crawling  with  the  worms  of  death;  it  is  as  shocking 
as  though  it  were  compacted  out  of  innocent  blood.  I  see  it 
here  in  my  hand,  and  I  know  it  is  shining  with  hell-fire.  I 
have  told  you  but  a  hundredth  part  of  its  story ;  what  passed 
in  former  ages,  to  what  crimes  and  treacheries  it  incited  men 
of  yore,  the  imagination  trembles  to  conceive;  for  years  and 
years  it  has  faithfully  served  the  powers  of  hell ;  enough,  I 
say,  of  blood,  enough  of  disgrace,  enough  of  broken  lives 
and  friendships ;  all  things  come  to  an  end,  the  evil  like  the 
good ;  pestilence  as  well  as  beautiful  music ;  and  as  for  this 
diamond,  God  forgive  me  if  I  do  wrong,  but  its  empire  ends 
to-night." 

The  Prince  made  a  sudden  movement  with  his  hand,  and 
the  jewel,  describing  an  arc  of  light,  dived  with  a  splash  into 
the  flowing  river. 

"  Amen,"  said  Florizel,  with  gravity.  "  I  have  slain  a 
cockatrice ! " 

160 


THE   RAJAH'S   DIAMOND 

"  God  pardon  me !  "  cried  the  detective.  "  What  have 
you  done?    I  am  a  ruined  man." 

"  I  tliink,"  returned  the  Prince,  with  a  smile,  "that  many 
Tvell-to-do  people  in  this  city  might  envy  j'ou  your  ruin." 

"  Alas !  your  Highness !  "  said  the  officer,  "  and  you  cor- 
inipt  me  after  all.?  " 

"  It  seems  there  was  no  help  for  it,"  replied  Florizel. 
"  And  now  let  us  go  forward  to  the  Prefecture." 

Not  long  after,  the  marriage  of  Francis  Scrymgeour  and 
Miss  Vandeleur  was  celebrated  in  great  privacy ;  and  the 
Prince  acted  on  that  occasion  as  groom's  man.  The  two 
Vandeleurs  surprised  some  rumor  of  what  had  happened  to 
the  diamond;  and  their  vast  diving  operations  on  the  River 
Seine  are  the  wonder  and  amusement  of  the  idle.  It  is  true 
that  thi'ough  some  miscalculation  they  have  chosen  the  wrong 
branch  of  the  river.  As  for  the  Prince,  that  sublime  person, 
having  now  served  his  turn,  may  go,  along  with  the  Arabian 
Author,  topsy-turvy  into  space.  But  if  the  reader  insists 
on  more  specific  information,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  a  recent 
revolution  hurled  him  from  the  throne  of  Bohemia,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  continued  absence  and  edifying  neglect  of 
public  business ;  and  that  his  Highness  now  keeps  a  cigar 
store  in  Rupert  Street,  much  frequented  by  other  foreign 
refugees. 

I  go  there  from  time  to  time  to  smoke  and  have  a  chat,  and 
find  him  as  great  a  creature  as  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity ; 
he  has  an  Olympian  air  behind  the  counter;  and  although  a 
sedentary  life  is  beginning  to  tell  upon  his  waistcoat,  he  is 
probably,  take  him  for  all  in  all,  the  handsomest  tobacconist 
in  London. 


1@I 


THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

INSCRIBED    TO 

D.    A.    S. 

IN   MEMORY  OF  DAYS    NEAR   FIDRA 


THE  PAVILION"  OK  THE  LINKS 


CHAPTER    I 

TELLS   HOW  I   CAMPED   IN    GRADEN    SEA-WOOD,   AND    BEHELD    A 
LIGHT    IN    THE    PAVILION 

I  WAS  a  great  solitary  when  I  was  young.  I  made  it  my 
pride  to  keep  aloof  and  suffice  for  my  own  entertain- 
ment; and  I  may  say  that  I  had  neither  friends  nor  ac- 
quaintances until  I  met  that  friend  Vtho  became  my  wife  and 
the  mother  of  my  children.  With  one  man  only  was  I  on 
private  terms;  this  was  R.  Northmour,  Esquire,  of  Graden 
Easter,  in  Scotland.  We  had  met  at  college;  and  though 
there  was  not  much  liking  between  us,  nor  even  much  in- 
timacy, we  were  so  nearly  of  a  humor  that  we  could  associate 
with  ease  to  both.  Misanthropes,  we  believed  ourselves  to 
be ;  but  I  have  thought  since  that  we  were  only  sulky  fellows. 
It  was  scarcely  a  companionship,  but  a  coexistence  in  un- 
sociability. Northmour's  exceptional  violence  of  temper 
made  it  no  easy  aiEFalr  for  him  to  keep  the  peace  with  anyone 
but  me ;  and  as  he  respected  my  silent  ways,  and  let  me  come 
and  go  as  I  pleased,  I  could  tolerate  his  presence  without 
concern.     I  think  we  called  each  other  friends. 

When  Northmour  took  his  degree  and  I  decided  to  leave 
the  university  without  one,  he  invited  me  on  a  long  visit  to 
Graden  Easter;  and  it  was  thus  that  I  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  scene  of  my  adventures.  The  mansion 
house  of  Graden  stood  in  a  bleak  stretch  of  country  some 
three  miles  from  the  shore  of  the  German  Ocean.  It  was  as 
la-rge  as  a  barrack ;  and  as  it  had  been  built  of  a  soft  stone, 
liable  to  consume  in  the  eager  air  of  the  seaside,  it  was  damp 
and  draughty  withm  and  half  ruinous  without.     It  was  im- 

165 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

possible  for  two  young  men  to  lodge  with  comfort  in  such  a 
dwelling.  But  there  stood  in  the  northern  part  of  the  estate, 
in  a  wilderness  of  links  and  blowing  sandhills,  and  between 
a  plantation  and  the  sea,  a  small  Pavilion  or  Belvedere,  of 
modem  design,  which  was  exactly  suited  to  our  wants ;  and 
in  this  hermitage,  speaking  httle,  reading  much,  and  rarely 
associating  except  at  meals,  Northmour  and  I  spent  four 
tempestuous  winter  months.  I  might  have  stayed  longer; 
but  one  March  night  there  sprang  up  between  us  a  dispute, 
which  rendered  my  departure  necessary.  Northmour  spoke 
hotly,  I  remember,  and  I  suppose  I  must  have  made  some  tart 
rejoinder.  He  leaped  from  his  chair  and  grappled  me;  I 
had  to  fight,  without  exaggeration,  for  my  life;  and  it  was 
only  with  a  great  effort  that  I  mastered  him,  for  he  was  near 
as  strong  in  body  as  myself,  and  seemed  filled  with  the  devil. 
The  next  morning,  we  met  on  our  usual  terms ;  but  I  judged 
it  more  delicate  to  withdraw ;  nor  did  he  attempt  to  dissuade 
me. 

It  was  nine  years  before  I  revisited  the  neighborhood.  I 
traveled  at  that  time  with  a  tilt  cart,  a  tent,  and  a  cooking- 
stove,  tramping  all  day  beside  the  wagon,  and  at  night, 
whenever  it  was  possible,  gipsying  in  a  cove  of  the  hills,  or 
by  the  side  of  a  wood.  I  believe  I  visited  in  this  manner 
most  of  the  wild  and  desolate  regions  both  in  England  and 
Scotland ;  and,  as  I  had  neither  friends  nor  relations,  I  was 
troubled  with  no  correspondence,  and  had  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  headquarters,  unless  it  was  the  office  of  my  so- 
licitors, from  whom  I  drew  my  income  twice  a  year.  It  was 
a  life  in  which  I  delighted;  and  I  fully  thought  to  have 
gro\^Ti  old  upon  the  march,  and  at  last  died  in  a  ditch. 

It  was  my  whole  business  to  find  desolate  corners,  where 
I  could  camp  without  the  fear  of  interruption ;  and  hence 
being  in  another  part  of  the  same  shire,  I  bethought  me  sud- 
denly of  the  Pavilion  on  the  Links.  No  thoroughfare  passed 
within  three  miles  of  it.  The  nearest  town,  and  that  was 
but  a  fisher  village,  was  at  a  distance  of  six  or  seven.  For 
ten  miles  of  length,  and  from  a  depth  varying  from  three 
miles  to  half  a  mile,  this  belt  of  barren  country  lay  along 

166 


THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

the  sea.  The  beach,  which  was  the  natural  approach,  was 
full  of  quicksands.  Indeed  I  may  say  there  is  hardly  a  bet- 
ter place  of  concealment  in  the  United  Kingdom.  I  deter- 
mined to  pass  a  week  in  the  Sea-Wood  of  Graden  Easter, 
and  making  a  long  stage,  reached  it  about  sundown  on  a 
wild  September  day. 

The  country,  I  have  said,  was  mixed  sand-hill  and  links ; 
links  being  a  Scottish  name  for  sand  which  has  ceased  drift- 
ing and  become  more  or  less  solidly  covered  with  turf.  The 
pavilion  stood  on  an  even  space,  a  little  behind  it  the 
wood  began  in  a  hedge  of  elders  huddled  together  by  the 
wind;  in  front,  a  few  tumbled  sand-hills  stood  between  it  and 
the  sea.  An  outcropping  of  rock  had  formed  a  bastion  for 
the  sand,  so  that  there  was  here  a  promontory  in  the  coast- 
hne  between  two  shallow  bays;  and  just  beyond  the  tides,  the 
rock  again  cropped  out  and  formed  an  islet  of  small  dimen- 
sions but  strikingly  designed.  The  quicksands  were  of  great 
extent  at  low  water,  and  had  an  infamous  reputation  in  the 
country.  Close  in  shore,  between  the  islet  and  the  promon- 
tory, it  was  said  that  they  would  swallow  a  man  in  four 
minutes  and  a  half;  but  there  may  have  been  little  ground 
for  this  precision.  The  district  was  alive  with  rabbits,  and 
haunted  by  gulls  which  made  a  continual  piping  about  the 
pavilion.  On  summer  days  the  outlook  was  bright  and  even 
gladsome ;  but  at  sundown  in  September,  with  a  high  wind, 
and  a  heavy  surf  rolling  in  close  along  the  links,  the  place 
told  of  nothing  but  dead  mariners  and  sea  disasters.  A  ship 
beating  to  windward  on  the  horizon,  and  a  huge  truncheon 
of  wreck  half  buried  in  the  sands  at  my  feet,  completed  the 
innuendo  of  the  scene. 

The  pavilion — it  had  been  built  by  the  last  proprietor, 
Northmour's  uncle,  a  silly  and  prodigal  virtuoso — presented 
little  signs  of  age.  It  was  two  stories  in  height,  Italian  in 
design,  surrounded  by  a  patch  of  garden  in  which  nothing 
had  prospered  but  a  few  coarse  flowers ;  and  looked,  with  its 
shuttered  windows,  not  like  a  house  that  had  been  deserted, 
but  like  one  that  had  never  been  tenanted  by  man.  North- 
mourwas  plainly  from  home;  whether,  as  usual,  sulking  in 

167 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

the  cabin  of  his  yacht,  or  in  one  of  his  fitful  and  extravagant 
appearances  in  the  world  of  society,  I  had,  of  course,  no 
means  of  guessing.  The  place  had  an  air  of  solitude  that 
daunted  even  a  solitary  like  myself;  the  wind  cried  in  the 
chimneys  with  a  strange  and  wailing  note;  and  it  was  with  a 
sense  of  escape,  as  if  I  were  going  indoors,  that  I  turned 
away  and  driving  my  cart  before  me  entered  the  skirts  of 
the  wood. 

The  Sea-Wood  of  Graden  had  been  planted  to  shelter  the 
cultivated  fields  behind,  and  check  the  encroachments  of  the 
blowing  sand.  As  you  advanced  into  it  from  coastward, 
ciders  were  succeeded  by  other  hardy  shrubs ;  but  the  timber 
was  all  stunted  and  bushy ;  it  led  a  life  of  conflict ;  the  trees 
were  accustomed  to  swing  there  all  night  long  in  fierce  win- 
ter tempests ;  and  even  in  early  spring,  the  leaves  were  al- 
ready flying,  and  autumn  was  beginning,  in  this  exposed 
plantation.  Inland  the  ground  rose  into  a  little  hill,  which, 
along  with  the  islet,  served  as  a  sailing  mark  for  seamen. 
When  the  hill  was  open  of  the  islet  to  the  north,  vessels  must 
bear  well  to  the  eastward  to  clear  Graden  Ness  and  the 
Graden  Bullers.  In  the  lower  ground,  a  streamlet  ran 
among  the  trees,  and,  being  dammed  with  dead  leaves  and 
clay  of  its  own  carrying,  spread  out  every  here  and  there, 
and  lay  in  stagnant  pools.  One  or  two  ruined  cottages  were 
dotted  about  the  wood ;  and,  according  to  Northmour,  these 
were  ecclesiastical  foundations,  and  in  their  time  had  shel- 
tered pious  hermits. 

I  found  a  den,  or  small  hollow,  where  there  was  a  spring 
of  pure  water;  and  there,  clearing  away  the  brambles,  I 
pitched  the  tent,  and  made  a  fire  to  cook  my  supper.  My 
horse  I  picketed  farther  in  the  wood  where  there  was  a  patch 
of  sward.  The  banks  of  the  den  not  only  concealed  the  light 
of  my  fire,  but  sheltered  me  from  the  wind,  which  was  cold 
as  well  as  high. 

The  life  I  was  leading  made  me  both  hardy  and  frugal. 
I  never  drank  but  water,  and  rarely  ate  anything  more 
costly  than  oatmeal;  and  I  required  so  little  sleep,  that, 
although  I  rose  with  the  peep  of  day,  I  would  often  lie  long 


THE    PxiVILION    ON    THE   LIXKS 

awake  in  the  dark  or  starry  watches  of  the  night.  Thus  in 
Graden  Sea-Wood,  although  I  fell  thankfully  asleep  by 
eight  in  the  evening^  I  was  awake  again  before  eleven  with  a 
full  possession  of  my  faculties,  and  no  sense  of  drowsiness 
or  fatigue.  I  rose  and  sat  by  the  fire,  watching  the  trees 
and  clouds  tumultuously  tossing  and  fleeing  overhead,  and 
hearkening  to  the  Mind  and  rollers  along  the  shore ;  till  at 
length,  growing  weary  of  inaction,  I  quitted  the  den,  and 
strolled  towards  the  borders  of  the  wood.  A  young  moon, 
buried  in  mist,  gave  a  faint  illumination  to  my  steps ;  and 
the  light  grew  brighter  as  I  walked  forth  into  the  links.  At 
the  same  moment,  the  wind,  smelling  salt  of  the  open  ocean 
and  carrying  particles  of  sand,  struck  me  with  its  full  force, 
so  that  I  had  to  bow  my  head. 

When  I  raised  it  again  to  look  about  me,  I  was  aware  of 
a  light  in  the  pavilion.  It  was  not  stationary ;  but  passed 
from  one  window  to  another,  as  though  someone  were  re- 
viewing the  different  apartments  with  a  lamp  or  candle.  I 
watched  it  for  some  seconds  in  great  surprise.  When  I  had 
arrived  in  the  afternoon  the  house  had  been  plainly  desei-ted; 
now  it  was  as  plainly  occupied.  It  was  my  first  idea  that  a 
gang  of  thieves  might  have  broken  in  and  be  now  ransacking 
Northmour's  cupboards,  which  were  many  and  not  ill  sup- 
plied. But  what  should  bring  thieves  to  Graden  Easter? 
And,  again,  all  the  shutters  had  been  thrown  open,  and  it 
would  have  been  more  in  the  character  of  such  gentry  to 
close  them.  I  dismissed  the  notion,  and  fell  back  upon  an- 
other. Northmour  himself  must  have  arrived,  and  was  now 
airing  and  inspecting  the  pavilion. 

I  have  said  that  there  was  no  real  affection  between  this 
man  and  me ;  but,  had  I  loved  him  like  a  brother,  I  was  then 
so  much  in  love  with  solitude  that  I  should  none  the  less  have 
shunned  his  company.  As  it  was,  I  turned  and  ran  for  it; 
and  it  was  with  genuine  satisfaction  that  I  found  myself 
safely  back  beside  the  fire.  I  had  escaped  an  acquaintance ; 
I  should  have  one  more  night  in  comfort.  In  the  morning, 
I  might  either  slip  away  before  Northmour  was  abroad,  or 
pay  liim  as  short  a  visit  as  I  chose. 

1G9 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

But  when  morning  came,  I  thought  the  situation  so  divert- 
ing that  I  forgot  my  shyness.  Northmour  was  at  my  mercy ; 
I  arranged  a  good  practical  jest,  though  I  knew  well  that 
my  neighbor  was  not  the  man  to  jest  with  in  security;  and, 
chuckling  beforehand  over  its  success,  took  my  place  among 
the  elders  at  the  edge  of  the  wood,  whence  I  could  command 
the  door  of  the  pavilion.  The  shutters  were  all  once  more 
closed,  which  I  remember  thinking  odd;  and  the  house,  with 
its  white  walls  and  green  Venetians,  looked  spruce  and  habit- 
able in  the  morning  light.  Hour  after  hour  passed,  and  still 
no  sign  of  Northmour.  I  knew  him  for  a  sluggard  in  the 
morning ;  but,  as  it  drew  on  towards  noon,  I  lost  my  patience. 
To  say  the  truth,  I  had  promised  myself  to  break  my  fast  in 
the  pavilion,  and  hunger  began  to  prick  me  sharply.  It  was 
a  pity  to  let  the  opportunity  ga  by  without  some  cause  for 
mirth ;  but  the  grosser  appetite  prevailed,  and  I  relinquished 
my  jest  with  regret,  and  sallied  from  the  wood. 

The  appearance  of  the  house  aflTected  me,  as  I  drew  near, 
with  disquietude.  It  seemed  unchanged  since  last  evening; 
and  I  had  expected  it,  I  scarce  knew  why,  to  wear  some  ex- 
ternal signs  of  habitation.  But  no:  the  windows  were  all 
closely  shuttered,  the  chimneys  breathed  no  smoke,  and  the 
front  door  itself  was  closely  padlocked.  Northmour,  there- 
fore, had  entered  by  the  back;  this  was  the  natural,  and,  in- 
deed, the  necessary  conclusion;  and  you  may  judge  of  my 
surprise  when,  on  turning  the  house,  I  found  the  back  door 
similarly  secured. 

My  mind  at  once  reverted  to  the  original  theory  of  thieves ; 
and  I  blamed  myself  sharply  for  my  last  night's  inaction.  I 
examined  all  the  windows  on  the  lower  story,  but  none  of 
them  had  been  tampered  with ;  I  tried  the  padlocks,  but  they 
were  both  secure.  It  thus  became  a  problem  how  the  thieves, 
if  thieves  they  were,  had  managed  to  enter  the  house.  They 
must  have  got,  I  reasoned,  upon  the  roof  of  the  outhouse 
where  Northmour  used  to  keep  his  photographic  battery ; 
and  from  thence,  either  by  the  window  of  the  study  or  that 
of  my  old  bedroom,  completed  their  burglarious  entry. 

I  followed  what  I  supposed  was  their  example;  and,  get* 

170 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

ting  on  the  roof,  tried  the  shutters  of  each  room.  Both 
were  secure ;  but  I  was  not  to  be  beaten ;  and,  with  a  little 
force,  one  of  them  flew  open,  grazing,  as  it  did  so,  the  back 
of  my  hand.  I  remember,  I  put  the  wound  to  my  mouth, 
and  stood  for  perhaps  half  a  minute  licking  it  like  a  dog, 
and  mechanically  gazing  behind  me  over  the  waste  links  and 
the  sea ;  and,  in  that  space  of  time,  my  eye  made  note  of  a 
large  schooner  yacht  some  miles  to  the  northeast.  Then  I 
threw  up  the  window  and  climbed  in. 

I  went  over  the  house,  and  nothing  can  express  my  mys- 
tification. There  was  no  sign  of  disorder,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  rooms  were  unusually  clean  and  pleasant.  I  found 
fires  laid,  ready  for  lighting;  three  bedrooms  prepared  with 
a  luxury  quite  foreign  to  Northmour's  habits,  and  with 
water  in  the  ewers  and  the  beds  turned  down ;  a  table  set  for 
three  in  the  dining-room ;  and  an  ample  supply  of  cold  meats, 
game  and  vegetables  on  the  pantry  shelves.  There  were 
guests  expected,  that  was  plain;  but  why  guests,  when 
Northmour  hated  society?  And,  above  all,  why  was  the 
house  thus  stealthily  prepared  at  dead  of  night.''  and  why 
were  the  shutters  closed  and  the  doors  padlocked.'' 

I  effaced  all  traces  of  my  visit,  and  came  forth  from  the 
window  feeling  sobered  and  concerned. 

The  schooner  yacht  was  still  in  the  same  place;  and  it 
flashed  for  a  moment  through  my  mind  that  this  might  be 
the  Red  Earl  bringing  the  owner  of  the  pavilion  and  his 
guests.     But  the  vessel's  head  was  set  the  other  way. 


171 


CHAPTER  n 

TELLS  OF  THE  NOCTURNAL  LANDING  FEOM  THE  YACHT 

I  RETURNED  to  the  den  to  cook  myself  a  meal,  of  which 
I  stood  in  great  need,  as  well  as  to  care  for  my  horse, 
whom  I  had  somewhat  neglected  in  the  morning.  From  time 
to  time  I  went  down  to  the  edge  of  the  wood ;  but  there  was 
no  change  in  the  pavilion,  and  not  a  human  creature  was 
seen  all  day  upon  the  links.  The  schooner  in  the  offing  was 
the  one  touch  of  life  within  my  range  of  vision.  She,  appar- 
ently with  no  set  object,  stood  off  and  on  or  lay  to,  hour 
after  hour;  but  as  the  evening  deepened,  she  drew  steadily 
nearer.  I  became  more  convinced  that  she  carried  North- 
mour  and  his  friends,  and  that  they  would  probably  come 
ashore  after  dark ;  not  only  because  that  was  of  a  piece  with 
the  secrecy  of  the  preparations,  but  because  the  tide  would 
not  have  flowed  sufficiently  before  eleven  to  cover  Graden 
Floe  and  the  other  sea  quags  that  fortified  the  shore  against 
invaders. 

All  day  the  wind  had  been  going  down,  and  the  sea  along 
with  it;  but  there  was  a  return  towards  sunset  of  the  heavy 
weather  of  the  day  before.  The  night  set  in  pitch  dark. 
The  wind  came  off  the  sea  in  squalls,  like  the  firing  of  a  bat- 
tery of  cannon ;  now  and  then  there  was  a  flaw  of  rain,  and 
the  surf  rolled  heavier  with  the  rising  tide.  I  was  down  at 
my  observatory  among  the  elders,  when  a  light  was  run  up 
to  the  masthead  of  the  schooner,  and  showed  she  was  closer 
in  than  when  I  had  last  seen  her  by  the  dying  daylight.  I 
concluded  that  this  must  be  a  signal  to  Northmour's  asso- 
ciates on  shore;  and,  stepping  forth  into  the  links,  looked 
around  me  for  something  in  response. 

A  small  footpath  ran  along  the  margin  of  the  wood,  and 
formed  the  most  direct  comraunication  between  the  pavilion 

17« 


THE    PAVILION    OX    THE   LIXKS 

and  the  mansion  house ;  and,  as  I  cast  my  eyes  to  that  side,  I 
saw  a  spark  of  light,  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  and 
rapidly  approaching.  From  its  uneven  course  it  appeared 
to  be  the  light  of  a  lantern  carried  by  a  person  who  followed 
the  windings  of  the  path,  and  was  often  staggered  and  taken 
aback  by  the  more  violent  squalls.  I  concealed  myself  once 
more  among  the  elders,  and  waited  eagerly  for  the  new- 
comer's advance.  It  proved  to  be  a  Woman ;  and,  as  she 
passed  within  half  a  rod  of  my  ambush,  I  was  able  to  recog- 
nize the  features.  The  deaf  and  silent  old  dame,  who  had 
nursed  Northmour  in  his  childhood,  was  his  associate  in  this 
underhand  affair. 

I  followed  her  at  a  little  distance,  taking  advantage  of  the 
innumerable  heights  F.nd  hollows,  concealed  by  the  darkness, 
and  favored  not  only  by  the  nurse's  deafness,  but  the  uproar 
of  the  wind  and  surf.  She  entered  the  pavilion,  and,  going 
at  once  to  the  upper  story,  opened  and  set  a  light  In  one 
of  the  windows  that  looked  towards  the  sea.  Immediately 
afterwards  the  light  at  the  schooner's  masthead  was  run 
down  and  extinguished.  Its  purpose  had  been  attained,  and 
those  on  board  were  sure  that  they  were  expected.  The  old 
woman  resumed  her  preparations ;  although  the  other  shut- 
ters remained  closed,  I  could  see  a  glimmer  going  to  and  fro 
about  the  house ;  and  a  gush  of  sparks  from  one  chimney 
after  another  soon  told  me  that  the  fires  were  being  kindled. 

Northmour  and  his  guests,  I  was  now  persuaded,  would 
come  ashore  as  soon  as  there  was  water  on  the  floe.  It  was 
a  wild  night  for  boat  service;  and  I  felt  some  alarm  mingle 
with  my  curiosity  as  I  reflected  on  the  danger  of  the  landing. 
My  old  acquaintance,  it  was  true,  was  the  most  eccentric  of 
men ;  but  the  present  eccentricity  was  both  disquieting  and 
lugubrious  to  consider.  A  variety  of  feelings  thus  led  me 
towards  the  beach,  where  I  lay  flat  on  my  face  in  a  hollow 
within  six  feet  of  the  track  that  led  to  the  pavilion.  Thence, 
I  should  have  the  satisfaction  of  recognizing  the  arrivals, 
and,  if  they  should  prove  to  be  acquaintances,  greeting  them 
as  soon  as  the}^  had  landed. 

Some  time  before  eleven,  while  the  tide  was  still  danger- 

173 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

ously  low,  a  boat's  lantern  appeared  close  in  shore;  and,  my 
attention  being  thus  awakened,  I  could  perceive  another  still 
far  to  seaward,  violently  tossed,  and  sometimes  hidden  by 
the  billows.  The  weather,  which  was  getting  dirtier  as  the 
night  went  on,  and  the  perilous  situation  of  the  yacht  upon 
a  lee-shore,  had  probably  driven  them  to  attempt  a  landing 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

A  little  afterwards,  four  yachtsmen  carrying  a  very  heavy 
chest,  and  guided  by  a  fifth  with  a  lantern,  passed  close  in 
front  of  me  as  I  lay,  and  were  admitted  to  the  pavilion  by 
the  nurse.  They  returned  to  the  beach,  and  passed  me  a 
third  time  with  another  chest,  larger  but  apparently  not  so 
heavy  as  the  first.  A  third  time  they  made  the  transit ;  and 
on  this  occasion  one  of  the  yachtsmen  carried  a  leather  port- 
manteau, and  the  others  a  lady's  trunk  and  carriage  bag. 
My  curiosity  was  sharply  excited.  If  a  woman  were  among 
the  guests  of  Northmour,  it  would  show  a  change  in  his 
habits  and  an  apostasy  from  his  pet  theories  of  life,  well 
calculated  to  fill  me  with  surprise.  When  he  and  I  dwelt 
there  together,  the  pavilion  had  been  a  temple  of  misogyny. 
And  now,  one  of  the  detested  sex  was  to  be  installed  under 
its  roof.  I  remembered  one  or  two  particulars,  a  few  notes 
of  daintiness  and  almost  of  coquetry  which  had  struck  me 
the  day  before  as  I  surveyed  the  preparations  in  the  house; 
their  purpose  was  now  clear,  and  I  thought  myself  dull  not 
to  have  perceived  it  from  the  first. 

While  I  was  thus  reflecting  a  second  lantern  drew  near  me 
from  the  beach.  It  was  carried  by  a  yachtsman  whom  I 
had  not  yet  seen,  and  who  was  conducting  two  other  persons 
to  the  pavilion.  These  two  persons  were  unquestionably  the 
guests  for  whom  the  house  was  made  ready ;  and,  straining 
eye  and  ear,  I  set  myself  to  watch  them  as  they  passed.  One 
was  an  unusually  tall  man,  in  a  traveling  hat  slouched  over 
his  eyes,  and  a  highland  cape  closely  buttoned  and  turned  up 
so  as  to  conceal  his  face.  You  could  make  out  no  more  of 
him  than  that  he  was,  as  I  have  said,  unusually  tall,  and 
walked  feebly  with  a  heavy  stoop.  By  his  side,  and  either 
clinging  to  him  or  giving  him  support — I  could  not  make 

.174 


THE    PAVILION    ON   THE   LINKS 

out  which — was  a  young,  tall,  and  slender  figure  of  a  woman. 
She  was  extremely  pale;  but  in  the  light  of  the  lantern  her 
face  was  so  marred  by  strong  and  changing  shadows,  that 
she  might  equally  well  have  been  as  ugly  as  sin  or  as  beauti- 
ful as  I  afterwards  found  her  to  be. 

When  they  were  just  abreast  of  me,  the  girl  made  some 
remark  which  was  drowned  by  the  noise  of  the  wind. 

"  Hush ! "  said  her  companion ;  and  there  was  something 
in  the  tone  with  which  the  word  was  uttered  that  thrilled  and 
rather  shook  my  spirits.  It  seemed  to  breathe  from  a  bosom 
laboring  under  the  deadliest  terror;  I  have  never  heard  an- 
other syllable  so  expressive;  and  I  still  hear  it  again  when  I 
am  feverish  at  night,  and  my  mind  runs  upon  old  times. 
The  man  turned  towards  the  girl  as  he  spoke;  I  had  a 
glimpse  of  much  red  beard  and  a  nose  which  seemed  to  have 
been  broken  in  youth;  and  his  light  eyes  seemed  shining  in 
his  face  with  some  strong  and  unpleasant  emotion. 

But  these  two  passed  on  and  were  admitted  in  their  turn 
to  the  pavilion. 

One  by  one,  or  in  groups,  the  seamen  returned  to  the 
beach.  The  wind  brought  me  the  sound  of  a  rough  voice 
crying,  "  Shove  off !  "  Then,  after  a  pause,  another  lantern 
drew  near.     It  was  Northmour  alone. 

My  wife  and  I,  a  man  and  a  woman,  have  often  agreed 
to  wonder  how  a  person  could  be,  at  the  same  time,  so  hand- 
some and  so  repulsive  as  Northmour.  He  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  finished  gentleman ;  his  face  bore  every  mark  of 
intelligence  and  courage,  but  you  had  only  to  look  at  him, 
even  in  his  most  amiable  moment,  to  see  that  he  had  the 
temper  of  a  slave  captain.  I  never  knew  a  character  tJiat 
was  both  explosive  and  revengeful  to  the  same  degree ;  he 
combined  the  vivacity  of  the  south  with  the  sustained  and 
deadly  hatreds  of  the  north ;  and  both  traits  were  plainly 
written  on  his  face,  which  was  a  sort  of  danger  signal.  In 
person  he  was  tall,  strong,  and  active ;  his  hair  and  com- 
plexion very  dark;  his  features  handsomely  designed,  but 
spoiled  by  a  menacing  expression. 

At  that  moment  he  was  somewhat  paler  than  by  nature ; 

175 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

he  wore  a  heavy  frown ;  and  his  lips  worked,  and  he  looked 
sharply  round  as  he  walked,  like  a  man  besieged  with  appre- 
hensions. And  yet  I  thought  he  had  a  look  of  triumph  un- 
derlying all,  as  though  he  had  already  done  much,  and  was 
near  the  end  of  an  achievement. 

Partly  from  a  scruple  of  delicacy — which  I  dare  say  came 
too  late — partly  from  the  pleasure  of  startling  an  acquaint- 
ance, I  desired  to  make  my  presence  known  to  him  without 
delay. 

I  got  suddenly  to  my  feet,  and  stepped  forward. 

"  Northmour !  "  said  I. 

I  have  never  had  so  shocking  a  surprise  in  all  my  days. 
He  leaped  on  me  without  a  word;  something  shone  in  his 
hand;  and  he  struck  for  my  heart  with  a  dagger.  At  the 
same  moment  I  knocked  him  head  over  heels.  Whether*  it 
was  my  quickness,  or  his  own  uncertainty,  I  know  not;  but 
the  blade  only  grazed  my  shoulder  while  the  hilt  and  his  fist 
struck  me  violently  on  the  mouth. 

I  fled,  but  not  far.  I  had  often  and  often  observed  the 
capabilities  of  the  sand-hills  for  protracted  ambush  or 
stealthy  advances  and  retreats ;  and,  not  ten  yards  from  the 
scene  of  the  scuffle,  plumped  down  again  upon  the  grass. 
The  lantern  had  fallen  and  gone  out.  But  what  was  my 
astonishment  to  see  Northmour  slip  at  a  bound  into  the  pavil- 
ion, and  hear  him  bar  the  door  behind  him  with  a  clang  of 


iron 


He  had  not  pursued  me.  He  had  run  away.  Northmour, 
whom  I  knew  for  the  most  implacable  and  daring  of  men,  had 
run  away !  I  could  scarce  believe  my  reason ;  and  yet  in  this 
strange  business,  where  all  was  incredible,  there  was  nothing 
to  make  a  work  about  in  an  incredibility  more  or  less.  For 
why  was  the  pavihon  secretly  prepared?  Why  had  North- 
mour landed  with  his  guests  at  dead  of  night,  in  half  a  gale 
of  wind,  and  with  the  floe  scarce  covered  .^  Why  had  he 
sought  to  kill  me?  Had  he  not  recognized  my  voice?  I  won- 
dered., And,  above  all,  how  had  he  come  to  have  a  dagger 
ready  in  his  hand?  A  dagger,  or  even  a  sharp  knife,  seemed 
out  of  keeping  with  the  age  in  which  we  lived ;  and  a  gentle- 

17<? 


THE    PAVILIOX    ON    THE   LINKS 

man  landing  from  his  yaclit  on  the  shore  of  his  own  estate, 
even  although  it  was  at  night  and  with  some  mysterious  cir- 
cumstances, does  not  usuall}^  as  a  matter  of  fact,  walk  thus 
prepared  for  deadly  onslaught.  The  more  I  reflected,  the 
further  I  felt  at  sea.  I  recapitulated  the  elements  of  mys- 
tery, counting  them  on  my  fingers:  the  pavilion  secretly 
prepared  for  guests ;  the  guests  landed  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives  and  to  the  imminent  peril  of  the  yacht ;  the  guests,  or 
at  least  one  of  them,  in  undisguised  and  seemingly  causeless 
terror ;  Northmour  with  a  naked  weapon ;  Northmour  stab- 
bing his  most  intimate  acquaintance  at  a  word;  last,  and  not 
least  strange,  Northmour  fleeing  from  the  man  whom  he  had 
sought  to  murder,  and  barricading  himself,  like  a  hunted 
creature,  behind  the  door  of  the  pavilion.  Here  were  at 
least  six  separate  causes  for  extreme  surprise ;  each  part 
and  parcel  with  the  others,  and  forming  all  together  one 
consistent  story.  I  felt  almost  ashamed  to  believe  my  own 
senses. 

As  I  thus  stood  transfixed  with  wonder,  I  began  to  grow 
painfully  conscious  of  the  injuries  I  had  received  in  the 
scuffle ;  skulked  round  among  the  sand-hills ;  and,  by  a  devious 
path,  regained  the  shelter  of  the  wood.  On  the  way,  the  old 
nurse  passed  again  within  several  yards  of  me,  still  carrying 
her  lantern,  on  the  return  journey  to  the  mansion-house  of 
GradeUo  This  made  a  seventh  suspicious  feature  in  the 
case.  Northmour  and  his  guests,  it  appeared,  were  to  cook 
and  do  the  cleaning  for  themselves,  while  the  old  woman  con- 
tinued to  inhabit  the  big  empty  barrack  among  the  policies. 
There  must  surely  be  great  cause  for  secrecy,  when  so  many 
inconveniences  were  confronted  to  preserve  it. 

So  thinking  I  m.ade  my  way  to  the  den.  For  greater 
security,  I  trod  out  the  embers  of  the  fire,  and  lit  m}'  lantern 
to  examine  the  wound  upon  my  shoulder.  It  was  a  trifling 
hurt,  although  it  bled  somewhat  freely,  and  I  dressed  it  as 
well  as  I  could  (for  its  position  made  it  difficult  to  reach) 
with  some  rag  and  cold  water  from  the  spring.  While  I  was 
thus  busied,  I  mentally  declared  war  again  Northmour  and 
his  mystery.     I  am  not  an  angry  man  by  nature,  and  I  bc- 

177 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

lieve  there  was  more  curiosity  than  resentment  in  my  heart. 
But  war  I  certainly  declared;  and,  by  way  of  preparation, 
I  got  out  my  revolver,  and,  having  drawn  the  charges, 
cleaned  and  reloaded  it  with  scrupulous  care.  Next  I  became 
preoccupied  about  my  horse.  It  might  break  loose,  or  fall 
to  neighing,  and  so  betray  my  camp  in  the  Sea-Wood.  I 
determined  to  rid  myself  of  its  neighborhood;  and  long  be- 
fore dawn  I  was  leading  it  over  the  links  in  the  direction  of 
the  fisher  village. 


%78 


CHAPTER   m 

TELLS    HOW    I   BECAME   ACQUAINTED    WITH    MY   WIFE 

FOR  two  days  I  skulked  round  the  pavilion,  profiting  by 
the  uneven  surface  of  the  links.  I  became  an  adept  In 
the  necessary  tactics.  These  low  hillocks  and  shallow  dells, 
running  one  Into  another,  became  a  kind  of  cloak  of  dark- 
ness for  my  enthralling,  but  perhaps  dishonorable,  pursuit. 
Yet,  In  spite  of  this  advantage,  I  could  learn  but  little  of 
Northmour  or  his  guests. 

Fresh  provisions  were  brought  under  cover  of  darkness 
by  the  old  woman  from  the  mansion-house.  Northmour,  and 
the  young  lady,  sometimes  together,  but  more  often  singly, 
would  walk  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time  on  the  beach  beside 
the  quicksand.  I  could  not  but  conclude  that  this  prome- 
nade was  chosen  with  an  eye  to  secrecy ;  for  the  spot  was  open 
only  to  the  seaward.  But  It  suited  me  not  less  excellently; 
the  highest  and  most  accldented  of  the  sand-hills  immediately 
adjoined;  and  from  these,  lying  flat  In  a  hollow,  I  could  over- 
look Northmour  or  the  young  lady  as  they  walked. 

The  tall  man  seemed  to  have  disappeared.  Not  only  did 
he  never  cross  the  threshold,  but  he  never  so  much  as  showed 
face  at  a  window ;  or,  at  least,  not  so  far  as  I  could  see ;  for  I 
dared  not  creep  forward  beyond  a  certain  distance  In  the 
day,  since  the  upper  floor  commanded  the  bottoms  of  the 
links ;  and  at  night,  when  I  could  venture  farther,  the  lower 
windows  were  barricaded  as  if  to  stand  a  siege.  Sometimes 
I  thought  the  tall  man  must  be  confined  to  bed,  for  I  remem- 
bered the  feebleness  of  his  gait ;  and  sometimes  I  thought  he 
must  have  gone  clear  away,  and  that  Northmour  and  the 
young  lady  remained  alone  together  in  the  pavilion.  The 
idea,  even  then,  displeased  me. 

Whether  or  not  this  pair  were  man  and  wife,  I  had  seen 

179 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

abundant  reason  to  doubt  the  friendliness  of  their  relation. 
Although  I  could  hear  nothing  of  what  they  said,  and  rarely 
so  much  as  glean  a  decided  expression  on  the  face  of  either, 
there  was  a  distance,  ahnost  a  stiffness,  in  their  bearing 
which  showed  them  to  be  either  unfamiliar  or  at  enmity.  The 
girl  walked  faster  when  she  was  with  Northmour  than  when 
she  was  alone;  and  I  conceived  that  any  inclination  between 
a  man  and  a  woman  would  rather  delay  than  accelerate  the 
step.  Moreover,  she  kept  a  good  yard  free  of  him,  and 
trailed  her  umbrella,  as  if  it  were  a  barrier,  on  the  side  be- 
tween them.  Northmour  kept  sidling  closer;  and,  as  the  girl 
retired  from  his  advance,  their  course  lay  at  a  sort  of  diago- 
nal across  the  beach,  and  would  have  landed  them  in  the  surf 
had  it  been  long  enough  continued.  But,  when  it  was  im- 
minent, the  girl  would  unostentatiously  change  sides  and 
put  Northmour  between  her  and  the  sea.  I  watched  these 
manoeuvres,  for  my  part,  with  high  enjoyment  and  approval, 
and  chuckled  to  myself  at  every  move. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  she  walked  alone  for 
some  time,  and  I  perceived,  to  my  great  concern,  that  she 
was  more  than  once  in  tears.  You  will  see  that  my  heart 
was  already  interested  more  than  I  supposed.  She  had  a 
firm  yet  airy  motion  of  the  body,  and  carried  her  head  with 
unimaginable  grace ;  every  step  was  a  thing  to  look  at,  and 
she  seemed  in  my  eyes  to  breathe  sweetness  and  distinction. 

The  day  was  so  agreeable,  being  calm  and  sunshiny,  with 
a  tranquil  sea,  and  yet  with  a  healthful  piquancy  and  vigor 
in  the  air,  that,  contrary  to  custom,  she  was  tempted  forth 
a  second  time  to  walk.  On  this  occasion  she  was  accom- 
panied by  Northmour,  and  they  had  been  but  a  short  while 
on  the  beach,  when  I  saw  him  take  forcible  possession  of  her 
hand.  She  struggled,  and  uttered  a  cry  that  was  almost  a 
scream.  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  unmindful  of  my  strange  posi- 
tion ;  but,  ere  I  had  taken  a  step,  I  saw  Northmour  bare- 
headed and  bowing  very  low,  as  if  to  apologize ;  and  dropped 
again  at  once  into  my  ambush.  A  few  words  were  inter- 
changed; and  then,  with  another  bow,  he  left  the  beach  to 
return  to  the  pavilion.     He  passed  not  far  from  me,  and 

180 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

I  could  see  him,  flushed  and  lowering,  and  cutting  savagely 
with  his  cane  among  the  grass.  It  was  not  without  satisfac- 
tion that  I  recognized  my  own  handiwork  in  a  great  cut 
under  his  right  eye^  and  a  considerable  discoloration  round 
the  socket. 

For  some  time  the  girl  remained  where  he  had  left  her, 
looking  out  past  the  islet  and  over  the  bright  sea.  Then 
with  a  start,  as  one  who  throws  off  preoccupation  and  puts 
energy  again  upon  its  mettle,  she  broke  into  a  rapid  and 
decisive  walk.  She  also  was  much  incensed  by  what  had 
passed.  She  had  forgotten  where  she  was.  And  I  beheld  her 
walk  straight  into  the  borders  of  the  quicksand  where  it  is 
most  abrupt  and  dangerous.  Two  or  three  steps  farther 
and  her  life  would  have  been  in  serious  jeopardy,  when  I  slid 
down  the  face  of  the  sand-hill,  which  is  there  precipitous, 
and,  running  half-Avay  forward,  called  to  her  to  stop. 

She  did  so,  and  turned  round.  There  was  not  a  tremor 
of  fear  in  her  behavior,  and  she  marched  directly  up  to  me 
like  a  queen.  I  was  barefoot,  and  clad  like  a  common 
sailor,  save  for  an  Egyptian  scarf  round  my  waist ;  and 
she  probably  took  me  at  first  for  some  one  from  the  fisher 
village,  straying  after  bait.  As  for  her,  when  I  thus  saw  her 
face  to  face,  her  eyes  set  steadily  and  imperiously  upon 
mine,  I  was  filled  with  admiration  and  astonishment,  and 
thought  her  even  more  beautiful  than  I  had  looked  to  find 
her.  Nor  could  I  think  enough  of  one  who,  acting  with  so 
much  boldness,  yet  preserved  a  maidenly  air  that  was  both 
quaint  and  engaging;  for  my  M'ife  kept  an  old-fashioned 
precision  of  manner  through  all  her  admirable  life — an  ex- 
cellent thing  in  woman,  since  it  sets  another  value  on  her 
sweet  familiarities. 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  You  were  walking,"  I  told  her,  "  directly  into  Graden 
Floe." 

"  You  do  not  belong  to  these  parts,"  she  said  again. 
"  You  speak  like  an  educated  man." 

"  I  believe  I  have  a  right  to  that  name,"  said  I,  "  al- 
though in  this  disguise." 

181 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

But  her  woman's  eye  had  already  detected  the  sash. 

**  Oh !  "  she  said ;  "  your  sash  betrays  you." 

"You  have  said  the  word  hetray,"  I  resumed.  "May 
I  ask  you  not  to  betray  me?  I  was  obliged  to  disclose  myself 
in  your  interest;  but  if  Northmour  learned  my  presence  it 
might  be  worse  than  disagreeable  for  me." 

"  Do  you  know,"  she  asked,  "  to  whom  you  are  speak- 


ing 


?  " 


"Not  to  Mr.  Northmour's  wife.''"  I  asked,  by  way  of 
answer. 

She  shook  her  head.  All  this  while  she  was  studying  my 
face  with  an  embarrassing  intentness.  Then  she  broke 
out — 

"  You  have  an  honest  face.  Be  honest  hke  your  face, 
sir,  and  tell  me  what  you  want  and  what  you  are  afraid  of. 
Do  you  think  I  could  hurt  you?  I  believe  you  have  far 
more  power  to  injure  me!  And  yet  you  do  not  look  unkind. 
What  do  you  mean — you,  a  gentleman — ^by  skulking  like  a 
spy  about  this  desolate  place?  Tell  me,"  she  said,  "who  is 
it  you  hate  ?  " 

"  I  hate  no  one,"  I  answered ;  "  and  I  fear  no  one  face  to 
face.  My  name  is  Cassilis — Frank  Cassilis.  I  lead  the  life 
of  a  vagabond  for  my  own  good  pleasure.  I  am  one  of 
Northmour's  oldest  friends ;  and  three  nights  ago,  when  I 
addressed  him  on  these  links,  he  stabbed  me  in  the  shoulder 
with  a  knife." 

"  It  was  you  !  "  she  said. 

"  Why  he  did  so,"  I  continued,  disregarding  the  interrup- 
tion, "  is  more  than  I  can  guess,  and  more  than  I  care  to 
know.  I  have  not  many  friends,  nor  am  I  very  susceptible  to 
friendship ;  but  no  man  shall  drive  me  from  a  place  by  terror. 
I  had  camped  in  Graden  Sea-Wood  ere  he  came;  I  camp  in 
it  still.  If  you  think  I  mean  harm  to  you  or  yours,  madam, 
the  remedy  is  in  your  hand.  Tell  him  that  my  camp  is  in 
the  Hemlock  Den,  and  to-night  he  can  stab  me  in  safety 
while  I  sleep." 

With  this  I  doffed  my  cap  to  her,  and  scrambled  up  once 
more  among  the  sand-hills.     I  do  not  know  why,  but  I  felt 

182 


THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

a  prodigious  sense  of  injustice,  and  felt  like  a  hero  and  a 
martyr;  while,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  had  not  a  word  to  say 
in  my  defence,  nor  so  much  as  one  plausible  reason  to  offer 
for  my  conduct.  I  had  stayed  at  Graden  out  of  a  curiosity 
natural  enough,  but  undignified;  and  though  there  was  an- 
other motive  growing  in  along  with  the  first,  it  was  not  one 
which,  at  that  period,  I  could  have  properly  explained  to  the 
lady  of  my  heart. 

Certainly  that  night,  I  thought  of  no  one  else;  and, 
though  her  whole  conduct  and  position  seemed  suspicious, 
I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  entertain  a  doubt  of  her 
integrity.  I  could  have  staked  my  life  that  she  was  clear 
of  blame,  and,  though  all  was  dark  at  the  present,  that  the 
explanation  of  the  mystery  would  show  her  part  in  these 
events  to  be  both  right  and  needful.  It  was  true,  let  me 
cudgel  my  imagination  as  I  pleased,  that  I  could  invent 
no  theory  of  her  relations  to  Northmour ;  but  I  felt  none  the 
less  sure  of  my  conclusion  because  it  was  founded  on  instinct 
in  place  of  reason,  and,  as  I  may  say,  went  to  sleep  that 
night  with  the  thought  of  her  under  my  pillow. 

Next  day  she  came  out  about  the  same  hour  alone,  and, 
as  soon  as  the  sand-hills  concealed  her  from  the  pavilion, 
drew  nearer  to  the  edge,  and  called  me  by  name  in  guarded 
tones.  I  was  astonished  to  observe  that  she  was  deadly  pale, 
and  seemingly  under  the  influence  of  strong  emotion. 

"  Mr.  Cassilis  !  "  she  cried ;  "  Mr.  Cassilis  !  " 

I  appeared  at  once,  and  leaped  down  upon  the  beach.  A 
remarkable  air  of  relief  overspread  her  countenance  as  soon 
as  she  saw  me. 

"  Oh ! "  she  cried,  with  a  hoarse  sound,  like  one  whose 
bosom  has  been  lightened  of  weight.  And  then,  "  Thank  God, 
you  are  still  safe !  "  she  added ;  "  I  knew,  if  you  were,  you 
would  be  here."  (Was  not  this  strange?  So  swiftly  and 
wisely  does  Nature  prepare  our  hearts  for  these  great  life- 
long intimacies,  that  both  my  wife  and  I  had  been  given  a 
presentiment  on  this  the  second  day  of  our  acquaintance.  I 
had  even  then  hoped  that  she  would  seek  me;  she  had  felt 
sure  that  she  would  find  rae.)     "  Do  not,"  she  went  on  swiftly, 

183 


NEW   AIlABIA:Nr   NIGHTS 

"  do  not  stay  in  this  place.  Promise  me  that  you  will  sleep 
no  longer  in  that  wood.  You  do  not  know  how  I  suffer;  all 
last  night  I  could  not  sleep  for  thinking  of  your  peril." 

"  Peril  ?  "  I  repeated.  "  Peril  from  whom  ?  From  North- 
mour?  " 

"  Not  so,"  she  said.  "  Did  you  think  I  would  tell  him 
after  what  you  said?" 

"Not  from  Northmour.?"  I  repeated.  "Then  how.^* 
From  whom?     I  see  none  to  be  afraid  of." 

"  You  must  not  ask  me,"  was  her  reply,  "  for  I  am  not 
free  to  tell  you.  Only  believe  me,  and  go  hence — believe  me, 
an^l  go  away  quickly,  quickly,  for  your  life !  " 

An  appeal  to  his  alarm  is  never  a  good  plan  to  rid  oneself 
of  a  spirited  young  man.  My  obstinacy  was  but  increased 
by  what  she  said,  and  I  made  it  a  point  of  honor  to  remain. 
And  her  solicitude  for  my  safety  still  more  confirmed  me 
in  the  resolve. 

"  You  must  not  think  me  inquisitive,  madam,"  I  replied ; 
"  but,  if  Graden  is  so  dangerous  a  place,  you  yourself  per- 
haps remain  here  at  some  risk." 

She  only  looked  at  me  reproachfully. 

"  You  and  your  father ,"  I  resumed ;  but  she  inter- 
rupted me  almost  with  a  gasp. 

"  My  father !     How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  she  cried. 

"  I  saw  3'ou  together  when  you  landed,"  was  my  answer; 
and  I  do  not  know  why,  but  it  seemed  satisfactory  to  both 
of  us,  as  indeed  it  was  the  truth.  "  But,"  I  continued,  "  you 
need  have  no  fear  from  me.  I  see  you  have  some  reason  to 
be  secret,  and,  you  may  believe  me,  your  secret  is  as  safe 
with  me  as  if  I  were  in  Graden  Floe.  I  have  scarce  spoken 
to  anyone  for  years ;  my  horse  is  my  only  companion,  and 
even  he,  poor  beast,  is  not  beside  me.  You  see,  then,  you 
may  count  on  me  for  silence.  So  tell  me  the  truth,  my  dear 
young  lady,  are  you  not  in  danger?  " 

"  Mr.  Northmour  says  you  are  an  honorable  man,"  she 
returned,  "  and  I  believe  it  when  I  see  you.  I  will  tell  you 
so  much ;  you  are  right ;  we  are  in  dreadful,  dreadful  danger, 
and  you  share  it  by  remaining  where  you  are." 

184^ 


THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

"  Ah!  "  said  I;  "  you  have  heard  of  me  from  Northmour? 
And  he  gives  me  a  good  character?  " 

"  I  asked  him  about  you  last  night,"  was  her  reply.  "  I 
pretended,"  she  hesitated,  "  I  pretended  to  have  met  you 
long  ago,  and  spoken  to  you  of  him.  It  was  not  true ; 
but  I  could  not  help  myself  without  betraying  you,  and  you 
had  put  me  in  a  difficulty.     He  praised  you  highly." 

"  And — you  may  permit  me  one  question — does  this  dan- 
ger come  from  Northmour  ?  "  I  asked. 

"From  Mr.  Northmour.?"  she  cried.  "Oh,  no;  he  stays 
with  us  to  share  it." 

"While  you  propose  that  I  should  run  away.?"  I  said. 
'*  You  do  not  rate  me  very  high." 

"  Why  should  you  stay?  "  she  asked.  "  You  are  no  friend 
of  ours." 

I  know  not  what  came  over  me,  for  I  had  not  been  con- 
scious of  a  similar  weakness  since  I  was  a  child,  but  I  was 
so  mortified  by  this  retort  that  my  eyes  pricked  and  filled  with 
tears,  as  I  continued  to  gaze  upon  her  face. 

"  No,  no,"  she  said,  in  a  changed  voice ;  "  I  did  not  mean 
the  words  unkindly." 

"  It  was  I  who  offended,"  I  said ;  and  I  held  out  my  hand 
with  a  look  of  appeal  that  somehow  touched  her,  for  she 
gave  me  hers  at  once,  and  even  eagerly.  I  held  it  for  awhile 
in  mine,  and  gazed  into  her  eyes.  It  was  she  who  first  tore 
her  hand  away,  and,  forgetting  all  about  her  request  and 
the  promise  she  had  sought  to  extort,  ran  at  the  top  of  her 
speed,  and  without  turning,  till  she  was  out  of  sight.  And 
then  I  knew  that  I  loved  her,  and  thought  In  my  glad  heart 
that  she — she  herself — was  not  indifferent  to  my  suit.  ISIany 
a  time  she  has  denied  it  in  after  days,  but  it  was  with  a 
smiling  and  not  a  serious  denial.  For  my  part,  I  am  sure 
our  hands  would  not  have  lain  so  closely  in  each  other  if 
she  had  not  begun  to  melt  to  me  already.  And,  when  all 
is  said,  it  is  no  great  contention,  since,  by  her  own  avowal, 
she  began  to  love  me  on  the  morrow. 

And  yet  on  the  morrow  very  little  took  place.  She  came 
and  called  me  down  as  on  the  day  before,  upbraided  me  for 

185 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

lingering  at  Graden,  and,  when  she  found  I  was  still  obdu- 
rate, began  to  ask  me  more  particularly  as  to  my  arrival. 
I  told  her  by  what  series  of  accidents  I  had  come  to  witness 
their  disembarkation,  and  how  I  had  determined  to  remain, 
partly  from  the  interest  which  had  been  wakened  in  me  by 
Northmour's  guests,  and  partly  because  of  his  own  mur- 
derous attack.  As  to  the  former,  I  fear  I  was  disingenuous, 
and  led  her  to  regard  herself  as  having  been  an  attrac- 
tion to  me  from  the  first  moment  that  I  saw  her  on  the 
links. 

It  relieves  my  heart  to  make  this  confession  even  now,  when 
my  wife  is  with  God,  and  already  knows  all  things,  and  the 
honesty  of  my  purpose  even  in  this ;  for  while  she  lived,  al- 
though it  often  pricked  my  conscience,  I  had  never  the  hardi- 
hood to  undeceive  her.  Even  a  little  secret,  in  such  a  mar- 
ried life  as  ours,  is  like  the  rose-leaf  which  kept  the  Princess 
from  her  sleep. 

From  this  the  talk  branched  into  other  subjects,  and  I 
told  her  much  about  my  lonely  and  wandering  existence ;  she, 
for  her  part,  giving  ear,  and  saying  little.  Although  we 
spoke  very  naturally,  and  latterly  on  topics  that  might  seem 
indifferent,  we  were  both  sweetly  agitated.  Too  soon  it  was 
time  for  her  to  go ;  and  we  separated,  as  if  by  mutual  con- 
sent, without  shaking  hands,  for  both  knew  that,  between  us, 
it  was  no  idle  ceremony. 

The  next,  and  that  was  the  fourth  day  of  our  acquaint- 
ance, we  met  in  the  same  spot,  but  early  in  the  morning,  with 
much  familiarity  and  yet  much  timidity  on  either  side. 
When  she  had  once  more  spoken  about  my  danger — and 
that,  I  understood,  was  her  excuse  for  coming — I,  who  had 
prepared  a  great  deal  of  talk  during  the  night,  began  to  tell 
her  how  highly  I  valued  her  kind  interest,  and  how  no  one  had 
ever  cared  to  hear  about  my  life,  nor  had  I  ever  cared  to 
relate  it,  before  yesterday.  Suddenly  she  interrupted  me, 
saying  with  vehemence — 

"  And  yet,  if  you  knew  who  I  was,  you  would  not  so  much 
as  speak  to  me !  " 

I  told  her  such  a  thought  was  madness,  and,  little  as  we 

186 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

had  met,  I  counted  her  already  a  dear  friend;  but  my  pro- 
testations seemed  only  to  make  her  more  desperate. 

"  My  father  is  in  hiding !  "  she  cried. 

"  My  dear,"  I  said,  forgetting  for  the  first  time  to  add 
"young  lady,"  "what  do  I  care?  If  he  were  in  hiding 
twenty  times  over,  would  it  make  one  thought  of  change 
in  you .''  " 

"  Ah,  but  the  cause !  "  she  cried,  "  the  cause !    It  is ^ 

she  faltered  for  a  second — "  it  is  disgraceful  to  us  I " 


187 


CHAPTER   IV 

TELLS  IN  WHAT  A  STARTLING  MANNER  I  LEARNED  THAT  I  WAS 
NOT    ALONE    IN    GRADEN    SEA-WOOD 

THIS  was  my  wife's  story,  as  I  drew  it  from  her  among 
tears  and  sobs.  Her  name  was  Clara  Huddlestone:  it 
sounded  very  truthful  in  my  ears ;  but  not  so  beautiful  as 
that  other  name  of  Clara  Cassilis,  which  she  wore  during 
the  longer  and,  I  thank  God,  the  happier  portion  of  her  life. 
Her  father,  Bernard  Huddlestone,  had  been  a  private  banker 
in  a  very  large  way  of  business.  Many  years  before,  his 
affairs  becoming  disordered,  he  had  been  led  to  try  dan- 
gerous, and  at  last  criminal,  expedients  to  retrieve  himself 
from  ruin.  All  was  in  vain ;  he  became  more  and  more 
cruelly  involved,  and  found  his  honor  lost  at  the  same  mo- 
ment with  his  fortune.  About  this  period,  Northmour  had 
been  courting  his  daughter  with  great  assiduity,  though 
with  small  encouragement;  and  to  him,  knowing  him  thus 
disposed  in  his  favor,  Bernard  Huddlestone  turned  for  help 
in  his  extremity.  It  was  not  merely  ruin  and  dishonor,  nor 
merely  a  legal  condemnation,  that  the  unhappy  man  had 
brought  on  his  head.  It  seems  he  could  have  gone  to  prison 
with  a  light  heart.  What  he  feared,  what  kept  him  awake 
at  night  or  recalled  him  from  slumber  into  frenzy,  was  some 
secret,  sudden,  and  unlawful  attempt  upon  his  life.  Hence, 
he  desired  to  bury  his  existence  and  escape  to  one  of  the 
islands  in  the  South  Pacific,  and  it  was  in  Northmour's 
yacht,  the  Red  Earl,  that  he  designed  to  go.  The  yacht 
picked  them  up  clandestinely  upon  the  coast  of  Wales,  and 
had  once  more  deposited  them  at  Graden,  till  she  could  be 
refitted  and  provisioned  for  the  longer  voyage.  Nor  could 
Clara  doubt  that  her  hand  had  been  stipulated  as  the  price 

ISS 


THE    PAVILIO]^    ON   THE   LINKS 

of  passage.  For,  although  Northmour  was  neither  unkind 
or  discourteous,  he  had  shown  himself  in  several  instances 
somewhat  overbold  in  speech  and  manner. 

I  listened,  I  need  not  say,  with  fixed  attention,  and  put 
many  questions  as  to  the  more  mysterious  part.  It  was  in 
vain.  She  had  no  clear  idea  of  what  the  blow  was,  nor  of 
how  it  was  expected  to  fall.  Her  father's  alarm  was  un- 
feigned and  physically  prostrating,  and  he  had  thought 
more  than  once  of  making  an  unconditional  surrender  to  the 
police.  But  the  scheme  was  finally  abandoned,  for  he  was 
convinced  that  not  even  the  strength  of  our  English  prisons 
could  shelter  him  from  his  pursuers.  He  had  had  many 
affairs  with  Italy,  and  with  Italians  resident  in  London,  in 
the  later  years  of  his  business ;  and  these  last,  as  Clara  fan- 
cied, were  somehow  connected  with  the  doom  that  threat- 
ened him.  He  had  shown  great  terror  at  the  presence  of  an 
Italian  seaman  on  board  the  Red  Earl,  and  had  bitterly  and 
repeatedly  accused  Northmour  in  consequence.  The  latter 
had  protested  that  Beppo  (that  was  the  seaman's  name)  was 
a  capital  fellow,  and  could  be  trusted  to  the  death ;  but  Mr. 
Huddlestone  had  continued  ever  since  to  declare  that  all  was 
lost,  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  days,  and  that  Beppo 
would  be  the  ruin  of  him  yet. 

I  regarded  the  whole  story  as  the  hallucination  of  a  mind 
shaken  by  C£ilamity.  He  had  suffered  heavy  loss  by  his  Ital- 
ian transactions ;  and  hence  the  sight  of  an  Italian  was 
hateful  to  him,  and  the  principal  part  of  his  nightmare 
would  naturally  enough  be  played  by  one  of  that  nation. 

"  What  your  father  wants,"  I  said,  "  is  a  good  doctor 
and  some  calming  medicine." 

"  But  Mr.  Northm.our.'^  "  objected  your  mother.  "  He 
is  untroubled  by  losses,  and  yet  he  shares  in  this  terror." 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  what  I  considered  her  sim- 
plicity. 

"  My  dear,"  said  I,  "  you  have  told  me  yourself  what  re- 
ward he  has  to  look  for.  All  is  fair  in  love,  you  must 
remember;  and  if  Northmour  foments  your  father's  terrors, 
it  is  not  at  all  because  he  is  afraid  of  any  Italian  man,  but 

189 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

simply  because  he  is  infatuated  with  a  charming  English 
woman." 

She  reminded  me  of  his  attack  upon  myself  on  the  night 
of  the  disembarkation,  and  this  I  was  unable  to  explain.  In 
short,  and  from  one  thing  to  another,  it  was  agreed  between 
us,  that  I  should  set  out  at  once  for  the  fisher  village,  Graden 
Wester,  as  it  was  called,  look  up  all  the  newspapers  I  could 
find,  and  see  for  myself  if  there  seemed  any  basis  of  fact 
for  these  continued  alarms.  The  next  morning,  at  the  same 
hour  and  place,  I  was  to  make  my  report  to  Clara.  She 
said  no  more  on  that  occasion  about  my  departure;  nor  in- 
deed, did  she  make  it  a  secret  that  she  clung  to  the  thought 
of  my  proximity  as  something  helpful  and  pleasant ;  and, 
for  my  part,  I  could  not  have  left  her,  if  she  had  gone  upon 
her  knees  to  ask  it. 

I  reached  Graden  Wester  before  ten  in  the  forenoon;  for 
in  those  days  I  was  an  excellent  pedestrian,  and  the  distance, 
as  I  think  I  have  said,  was  little  over  seven  miles ;  fine  walk- 
ing all  the  way  upon  the  springy  turf.  The  village  is  one 
of  the  bleakest  on  that  coast,  which  is  saying  much :  there  is 
a  church  in  a  hollow,  a  miserable  haven  in  the  rocks,  where 
many  boats  have  been  lost  as  they  returned  from  fishing; 
two  or  three  score  of  stone  houses  arranged  along  the  beach 
and  in  two  streets,  one  leading  from  the  harbor,  and  an- 
other striking  out  from  it  at  right  angles ;  and,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  these  two,  a  very  dark  and  cheerless  tavern,  by  way 
of  principal  hotel. 

I  had  dressed  myself  somewhat  more  suitably  to  my  sta- 
tion in  life,  and  at  once  called  upon  the  minister  in  his  little 
manse  beside  the  graveyard.  He  knew  me,  although  it  was 
more  than  nine  years  since  we  had  met;  and  when  I  told 
him  that  I  had  been  long  upon  a  walking  tour,  and  was  be- 
hind with  the  news,  readily  lent  m,e  an  armful  of  newspapers, 
dating  from  a  month  back  to  the  day  before.  With  these  I 
sought  the  tavern,  and,  ordering  some  breakfast,  sat  down 
to  study  the  "  Huddlestone  Failure." 

It  had  been,  it  appeared,  a  very  flagrant  case.  Thou- 
sands of  persons  were  reduced  to  poverty;  and  one  in  par- 

190 


THE   PAVILION    ON   THE   LINKS 

cicular  Had  l/Iowu  out  ms  Drams  as  soon  as  payment  was 
suspended.  It  was  strange  to  myself  that,  while  I  read  these 
details,  I  continued  rather  to  sympathize  with  Mr.  Huddle- 
stone  than  with  his  victims ;  so  complete  already  was  the 
empire  of  my  love  for  my  wife.  A  price  was  naturally  set 
upon  the  banker's  head ;  and,  as  the  case  was  inexcusable  and 
the  public  indignation  thoroughly  aroused,  the  unusual 
figure  of  £750  was  offered  for  his  capture.  He  was  re- 
ported to  have  large  sums  of  money  in  his  possession.  One 
day,  he  had  been  heard  of  in  Spain ;  the  next,  there  was  sure 
intelligence  that  he  was  still  lurking  between  Manchester 
and  Liverpool,  or  along  the  border  of  Wales ;  and  the  day 
after,  a  telegram  would  announce  his  arrival  in  Cuba  or 
Yucatan.  But  in  all  this  there  was  no  word  of  an  Italian, 
nor  any  sign  of  mystery. 

In  the  very  last  paper,  however,  there  was  one  item  not 
so  clear.  The  accountants  who  were  charged  to  verify  the 
failure  had,  it  seemed,  come  upon  the  traces  of  a  very  large 
number  of  thousands,  which  figured  for  some  time  in  the 
transactions  of  the  house  of  Huddlestone ;  but  which  came 
from  nowhere,  and  disappeared  in  the  same  mysterious 
fashion.  It  was  only  once  referred  to  by  name,  and  then 
under  the  initials  "  X.  X."  ;  but  it  had  plainly  been  floated 
for  the  first  time  into  the  business  at  a  period  of  great  de- 
pression some  six  years  ago.  The  name  of  a  distinguished 
Royal  personage  had  been  mentioned  by  rumor  in  connection 
with  this  sum.  "  The  cowardly  desperado  " — such,  I  re- 
member, was  the  editorial  expression — was  supposed  to  have 
escaped  with  a  large  part  of  this  mysterious  fund  still  in 
his  possession. 

I  was  still  brooding  over  the  fact,  and  trying  to  torture 
it  into  some  connection  with  Mr.  Huddlestone's  danger,  when 
a  man  entered  the  tavern  and  asked  for  some  bread  and 
cheese  with  a  decided  foreign  accent. 

"  Siete  Italia/no?  "  said  I. 

*'  Si,  signor"  was  his  reply. 

I  said  it  was  unusually  far  north  to  find  one  of  his  com- 
patriots ;  at  which  he  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  replied 

191 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

that  a  man  would  go  anywhere  to  find  work.  What  work 
he  could  hope  to  find  at  Graden  Wester,  I  was  totally  unable 
to  conceive;  and  the  incident  struck  so  unpleasantly  upon 
my  mind,  that  I  asked  the  landlord,  while  he  was  counting 
me  some  change,  whether  he  had  ever  before  seen  an  Italian 
in  the  village.  He  said  he  had  once  seen  some  Norwegians, 
who  had  been  shipwrecked  on  the  other  side  of  Graden  Ness 
and  rescued  by  the  lifeboat  from  Cauld-haven. 

"  No !  "  said  I;  "  but  an  Italian,  hke  the  man  who  has  just 
had  bread  and  cheese." 

"What?"  cried  he,  "yon  black-avised  fellow  wi'  the 
teeth?  Was  he  an  I-talian?  Weel,  yon's  the  first  that  ever 
I  saw,  an'  I  dare  say  he's  like  to  be  the  last." 

Even  as  he  was  speaking,  I  raised  my  eyes,  and,  casting 
a  glance  into  the  street,  beheld  three  men  in  earnest  conver- 
sation together,  and  not  thirty  yards  away.  One  of  them 
was  my  recent  companion  in  the  tavern  parlor;  the  other 
two,  by  their  handsome,  sallow  features  and  soft  hats,  should 
evidently  belong  to  the  same  race.  A  crowd  of  village  chil- 
dren stood  around  them,  gesticulating  and  talking  gibber- 
ish in  imitation.  The  trio  looked  singularly  foreign  to  the 
bleak  dirty  street  in  which  they  were  standing,  and  the  dark 
gray  heaven  that  overspread  them ;  and  I  confess  my  in- 
credulity received  at  that  moment  a  shock  from  which  it 
never  recovered.  I  might  reason  with  myself  as  I  pleased, 
but  I  could  not  argue  down  the  effect  of  what  I  had  seen, 
and  I  began  to  share  in  the  Italian  terror. 

It  was  already  drawing  towards  the  close  of  the  day  be- 
fore I  had  returned  the  newspapers  at  the  manse,  and  got 
Avell  forward  on  to  the  links  on  my  way  home.  I  shall  never 
forget  that  walk.  It  grew  very  cold  and  boisterous ;  the 
wind  sang  In  the  short  grass  about  my  feet ;  thin  rain 
showers  came  running  on  the  gusts ;  and  an  immense  moun- 
tain range  of  clouds  began  to  arise  out  of  the  bosom  of  the 
sea.  It  would  be  hard  to  Imagine  a  more  dismal  evening ; 
and  whether  it  was  from  these  external  Influences,  or  because 
my  nerves  were  already  affected  by  what  I  had  heard  and 
seen^  my  thoughts  were  as  gloomy  as  the  weather. 

192 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

The  upper  windows  of  the  pavilion  commanded  a  consid- 
erable spread  of  links  in  the  direction  of  Graden  Wester. 
To  avoid  observation,  it  was  necessary  to  hug  the  beach 
until  I  had  gained  cover  from  the  higher  sand-hills  on  the 
little  headland,  when  I  might  strike  across,  through  the  hol- 
lows, for  the  margin  of  the  wood.  The  sun  was  about  set- 
ting; the  tide  was  low,  and  all  the  quicksands  uncovered; 
and  I  was  moving  along,  lost  in  unpleasant  thought,  when 
I  was  suddenly  thunderstruck  to  perceive  the  prints  of 
human  feet.  They  ran  parallel  to  my  own  course,  but  low 
down  upon  the  beach  instead  of  along  the  border  of  the 
turf;  and,  when  I  examined  them,  I  saw  at  once,  by  the  size 
and  coarseness  of  the  impression,  that  it  was  a  stranger  to 
me  and  to  those  in  the  pavilion  who  had  recently  passed  that 
way.  Not  only  so ;  but  from  the  recklessness  of  the  course 
which  he  had  followed,  steering  near  to  the  most  formidable 
portions  of  the  sand,  he  was  as  evidently  a  stranger  to  the 
country  and  to  the  ill-repute  of  Graden  beach. 

Step  by  step  I  followed  the  prints ;  until,  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  further,  I  beheld  them  die  away  into  the  south-eastern 
boundary  of  Graden  Floe.  There,  whoever  he  was,  the  miser- 
able man  had  perished.  One  or  two  gulls,  who  had,  per- 
haps, seen  him  disappear,  wheeled  over  his  sepulchre  with 
their  usual  melancholy  piping.  The  sun  had  broken  through 
the  clouds  by  a  last  effort,  and  colored  the  wide  level  of 
quicksands  with  a  dusky  purple.  I  stood  for  some  time  gaz- 
ing at  the  spot,  chilled  and  disheartened  by  my  own  reflec- 
tions, and  with  a  strong  and  commanding  consciousness  of 
death.  I  remember  wondering  how  long  the  tragedy  had 
taken,  and  whether  his  screams  had  been  audible  at  the 
pavilion.  And  then,  making  a  strong  resolution,  I  was  about 
to  tear  myself  away,  when  a  gust  fiercer  than  usual  fell  upon 
this  quarter  of  the  beach,  and  I  saw  now,  whirling  high  in 
air,  now  skimming  lightly  across  the  surface  of  the  sands,  a 
soft,  black,  felt  hat,  somewhat  conical  in  shape,  such  as  I 
had  remarked  already  on  the  heads  of  the  Italians. 

I  believe,  but  I  am  not  sure,  that  I  uttered  a  cry.  The 
wind  was  driving  the  hat  shoreward,  and  I  ran  round  the 

193 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

border  of  the  floe  to  be  ready  against  its  arrival.  The  gust 
fell,  dropping  the  hat  for  a  while  upon  the  quicksand,  and 
then,  once  more  freshening,  landed  it  a  few  yards  from 
where  I  stood.  I  seized  it  with  the  interest  you  may  imagine. 
It  had  seen  some  service;  indeed,  it  was  rustier  than  either 
of  those  I  had  seen  that  day  upon  the  street.  The  lining 
was  red,  stamped  with  the  name  of  the  maker,  which  I  have 
forgotten,  and  that  of  the  place  of  manufacture,  Venedig. 
This  (it  is  not  yet  forgotten)  was  the  name  given  by  the 
Austrians  to  the  beautiful  city  of  Venice,  then,  and  for  long 
after,  a  part  of  their  dominions. 

The  shock  was  complete.  I  saw  Imaginary  Italians  upon 
every  side;  and  for  the  first,  and,  I  may  say,  for  the  last 
time  in  my  experience,  became  overpowered  by  what  is  called 
panic  terror.  I  knew  nothing,  that  is,  to  be  afraid  of,  and 
yet  I  admit  that  I  was  heartily  afraid;  and  it  was  with 
a  sensible  reluctance  that  I  returned  to  my  exposed  and 
solitarj'  camp  in  the  Sea-Wood. 

There  I  ate  some  cold  porridge  which  had  been  left  over 
from  the  night  before,  for  I  was  disinclined  to  make  a  fire; 
and,  feeling  strengthened  and  reassured,  dismissed  all  these 
fanciful  terrors  from  my  mind,  and  lay  down  to  sleep  with 
composure. 

How  long  I  may  have  slept  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
guess ;  but  I  was  awakened  at  last  by  a  sudden,  blinding  flash 
of  light  into  my  face.  It  woke  me  like  a  blow.  In  an  in- 
stant I  was  upon  my  knees.  But  the  light  had  gone  as 
suddenly  as  it  came.  The  darkness  was  intense.  And,  as 
it  was  blowing  great  guns  from  the  sea  and  pouring  with 
rain,  the  noises  of  the  storm  eff^ectually  concealed  all 
others. 

It  was,  I  dare  say,  half  a  minute  before  I  regained  my 
self-possession.  But  for  two  circumstances,  I  should  have 
thought  I  had  been  awakened  by  some  new  and  vivid  form 
of  nightmare.  First,  the  flap  of  my  tent,  which  I  had  shut 
carefully  when  I  retired,  was  now  unfastened;  and,  second, 
I  could  still  perceive,  with  a  sharpness  that  excluded  any 
theory  of  hallucination,  the  smell  of  hot  metal  and  of  bum- 

194t 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

tng  oil.  The  conclusion  was  obvious.  I  had  been  awakened 
by  some  one  flashing  a  bull's-eye  lantern  in  my  face.  It  had 
been  but  a  flash,  and  away.  He  had  seen  my  face,  and  then 
gone.  I  asked  myself  the  object  of  so  strange  a  proceeding, 
and  the  answer  came  pat.  The  man,  whoever  he  was,  had 
thought  to  recognize  me,  and  he  had  not.  There  was  also 
another  question  unsolved;  and  to  this,  I  may  say,  I  feared 
to  give  an  answer;  if  he  had  recognized  me,  what  would  he 
have  done.'' 

My  fears  were  immediately  diverted  from  myself,  for  I 
saw  that  I  had  been  visited  in  a  mistake ;  and  I  became  per- 
suaded that  some  dreadful  danger  threatened  the  pavilion. 
It  required  some  nerve  to  issue  forth  into  the  black  and 
intricate  thicket  which  surrounded  and  overhung  the  den; 
but  I  groped  my  way  to  the  links,  drenched  with  rain,  beaten 
upon  and  deafened  by  the  gusts,  and  fearing  at  every  step 
to  lay  my  hand  upon  some  lurking  adversary.  The  darkness 
was  so  complete  that  I  might  have  been  surrounded  by  an 
army  and  yet  none  the  wiser,  and  the  uproar  of  the  gale  so 
loud  that  my  hearing  was  as  useless  as  my  sight. 

For  the  rest  of  the  night,  which  seemed  interminably  long, 
I  patroled  the  vicinity  of  the  pavilion,  without  seeing  a 
living  creature  or  hearing  any  noise  but  the  concert  of  the 
wind,  the  sea,  and  the  rain.  A  light  in  the  upper  story 
filtered  through  a  cranny  in  the  shutter,  and  kept  me  com- 
pany till  the  approach  of  dawn. 


195 


CHAPTER    V 

TELLS   OF   AN   INTERVIEW    BETWEEN    NORTHMOUR,    CLARA  AND 

MYSELF 

WITH  the  first  peep  of  day,  I  retired  from  the  open  to 
my  old  lair  among  the  sandhills,  there  to  await  the 
coming  of  my  wife.  The  morning  was  gray,  wild,  and  melan- 
choly ;  the  wind  moderated  before  sunrise,  and  then  went 
about,  and  blew  in  puffs  from  the  shore ;  the  sea  began  to  go 
down,  but  the  rain  still  fell  without  mercy.  Over  all  the  wil- 
derness of  links  there  was  not  a  creature  to  be  seen.  Yet  I 
felt  sure  the  neighborhood  was  alive  with  skulking  foes.  The 
light  had  been  so  suddenly  and  surprisingly  flashed  upon  my 
face  as  I  lay  sleeping,  and  the  hat  that  had  been  blown 
ashore  by  the  wind  from  over  Graden  Floe,  were  two  speak- 
ing signals  of  the  peril  that  environed  Clara  and  the  party 
in  the  pavilion. 

It  was,  perhaps,  half-past  seven,  or  nearer  eight,  before 
I  saw  the  door  open,  and  that  dear  figure  come  towards  me 
in  the  rain.  I  was  waiting  for  her  on  the  beach  before  she 
had  crossed  the  sand-hills. 

"  I  have  had  such  trouble  to  come ! "  she  cried.  "  They 
did  not  wish  me  to  go  walking  in  the  rain." 

"  Clara,"  I  said,  "  you  are  not  frightened !  " 

"  No,"  said  she,  with  a  simplicity  that  filled  my  heart  with 
confidence.  For  my  wife  was  the  bravest  as  well  as  the  best 
of  women;  in  my  experience,  I  have  not  found  the  two  go 
always  together,  but  with  her  they  did;  and  she  combined 
the  extreme  of  fortitude  with  the  most  endearing  and  beau- 
tiful virtues. 

I  told  her  what  had  happened ;  and,  though  her  cheek  grew 
visibly  paler,  she  retained  perfect  control  over  her  senses. 

196 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

"You  see  now  that  I  am  safe,"  said  I  in  conclusion. 
"  They  do  not  moan  to  harm  me ;  for,  had  they  chosen,  I 
was  a  dead  man  last  night." 

She  laid  her  hand  upon  my  arm. 

"  And  I  had  no  presentiment ! "  she  cried. 

Her  accent  thrilled  me  with  delight.  I  put  my  arm  about 
her,  and  strained  her  to  my  side;  and,  before  either  of 
us  was  aware,  her  hands  were  on  my  shoulders  and  my  lips 
upon  her  mouth.  Yet  up  to  that  moment  no  word  of  love 
had  passed  between  us.  To  this  time  I  remember  the  touch 
of  her  cheek,  which  was  wet  and  cold  with  the  rain ;  and 
many  a  time  since,  when  she  has  been  washing  her  face,  I 
have  kissed  it  again  for  the  sake  of  that  morning  on  the 
beach.  Now  that  she  is  taken  from  me,  and  I  finish  my 
pilgrimage  alone,  I  recall  our  old  loving  kindness  and  the 
deep  honesty  and  affection  which  united  us,  and  my  present 
loss  seems  but  a  trifle  in  comparison. 

We  may  have  thus  stood  for  some  seconds — for  time 
passes  quickly  with  lovers — ^before  we  were  startled  by  a 
peal  of  laughter  close  at  hand.  It  was  not  natural  mirth, 
but  seemed  to  be  affected  in  order  to  conceal  an  angrier  feel- 
ing. We  both  turned,  though  I  still  kept  my  left  arm 
about  Clara's  waist;  nor  did  she  seek  to  withdraw  herself; 
and  there,  a  few  paces  off  upon  the  beach,  stood  North- 
mour,  his  head  lowered,  his  hands  behind  his  back,  his 
nostrils  white  with  passion. 

"  Ah !  Cassilis !  "  he  said,  as  I  disclosed  my  face. 

*'  That  same,"  said  I ;  for  I  was  not  at  all  put  about. 

*'  And  so,  Miss  Huddlestone,"  he  continued  slowly  but 
savagely,  "  this  is  how  you  keep  j^our  faith  to  your  fathe?: 
and  to  me.''  This  is  the  value  you  set  upon  3'our  father'^ 
life?  And  you  are  so  infatuated  with  this  young  gentleman 
that  you  must  brave  ruin,  and  decency,  and  common  human 
caution " 

"  Miss  Huddlestone "     I  was  beginning  to  interrupt 

him,  when  he,  in  his  turn,  cut  in  brutally — 

"  You  hold  your  tongue,"  said  he ;  "I  am  speaking  to 
that  girl." 

197 


]S^EW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  That  girl,  as  you  call  her,  is  my  wife,"  said  I :  and  my 
wife  only  leaned  a  little  nearer,  so  that  I  knew  she  had 
affirmed  my  words. 

"  Your  what?  "  he  cried.     "  You  lie !  " 

"  Northmour,"  I  said,  "  we  all  know  you  have  a  bad  tem- 
per, and  I  am  the  last  man  to  be  irritated  by  words.  For 
all  that,  I  propose  that  you  speak  lower,  for  I  am  convinced 
that  we  are  not  alone." 

He  looked  round  him,  and  it  was  plain  my  remark  had  in 
some  degree  sobered  his  passion.  "  What  do  you  mean?  " 
he  asked. 

I  only  said  one  word :  "  Italians." 

He  swore  a  round  oath,  and  looked  at  us,  from  one  to 
the  other. 

"  Mr.  Cassilis  knows  all  that  I  know,"  said  my  wife. 

"  What  I  want  to  know,"  he  broke  out,  "  is  where  the 
devil  Mr.  Cassilis  comes  from,  and  what  the  devil  Mr.  Cas- 
silis is  doing  here.  You  say  you  are  married:  that  I  do  not 
believe.  If  you  were,  Graden  Floe  would  soon  divorce  you ; 
four  minutes  and  a  half,  Cassihs,  I  keep  my  private  cemetery 
for  my  friends." 

"  It  took  somewhat  longer,"  said  I,  "  for  that  Italian." 

He  looked  at  me  for  a  moment  half  daunted,  and  then, 
almost  civilly,  asked  me  to  tell  my  story.  "  You  have  too 
much  the  advantage  of  me,  Cassilis,"  he  added.  I  complied, 
of  course;  and  he  listened,  with  several  ejaculations,  while 
I  told  him  how  I  had  come  to  Graden;  that  it  was  I  whom 
he  had  tried  to  murder  on  the  night  of  landing;  and  what 
I  had  subsequently  seen  and  heard  of  the  Italians. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  when  I  had  done,  "  it  is  here  at  last ; 
there  is  no  mistake  about  that.  And  what,  may  I  ask,  do 
you  propose  to  do?" 

"  I  propose  to  stay  with  you  and  lend  a  hand,"  said  I. 

*'  You  are  a  brave  man,"  he  returned,  with  a  peculiar 
intonation. 

"  I  am  not  afraid,"  said  I. 

"  And  so,"  he  continued,  "  I  am  to  understand  that  you 

19s 


THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

two  are  married  ?  And  you  stand  up  to  it  before  my  f ac«  j 
Miss  Huddlestone?  " 

"  We  are  not  yet  married,"  said  Clara ;  *'  but  we  shall  be 
as  soon  as  we  can." 

*'  Bravo !  "  cried  Northmour.  *'  And  the  bargain  ?  D — n 
it,  you're  not  a  fool,  young  woman ;  I  may  call  a  spade  a 
spade  with  you.  How  about  the  bargain?  You  know  as 
well  as  I  do  what  your  father's  life  depends  upon.  I  have 
only  to  put  my  hands  under  my  coat-tails  and  walk  away, 
and  his  throat  would  be  cut  before  the  evening." 

"Yes,  Mr.  Northmour,"  returned  Clara,  with  great  spirit; 
*'  but  that  is  what  you  will  never  do.  You  made  a  bargain 
that  was  unworthy  of  a  gentleman ;  but  you  are  a  gentle- 
man for  all  that,  and  you  will  never  desert  a  man  whom  you 
have  begun  to  help." 

"  Aha !  "  said  he.  "  You  think  I  will  give  my  yacht  for 
nothing.''  You  think  I  will  risk  my  life  and  liberty  for  love 
of  the  old  gentleman ;  and  then,  I  suppose,  be  best  man  at 
the  wedding,  to  wind  up.''  Well,"  he  added,  with  an  odd 
smile,  "  perhaps  you  are  not  altogether  wrong.  But  ask 
Cassilis  here.  He  knows  me.  Am  I  a  man  to  trust.''  Am 
I  safe  and  scrupulous?     Am  I  kind?  " 

"  I  know  you  talk  a  great  deal,  and  sometimes,  I  think, 
very  foolishly,"  replied  Clara,  "  but  I  know  you  are  a  gen- 
tleman, and  I  am  not  in  the  least  afraid." 

He  looked  at  her  with  a  peculiar  approval  and  admira- 
tion ;  then,  turning  to  me,  "  Do  you  think  I  would  give  her 
up  without  a  struggle,  Frank?"  said  he.  "I  tell  you 
plainly,  you  look  out.    The  next  time  we  come  to  blows " 

"  Will  make  the  third,"  I  interrupted,  smiling. 

"  Aye,  true ;  so  it  will,"  he  said.  "  I  had  forgotten.  Well, 
the  third  time's  lucky." 

"  The  third  time,  you  mean,  you  will  have  the  crew  of  the 
Red  Earl  to  help,"  I  said. 

"  Do  you  hear  him?  "  he  asked,  turning  to  my  wife. 

"  I  hear  two  men  speaking  like  cowards,"  said  she.  "  I 
should  despise  myself  either  to  think  or  speak  like  that.    And 

199 


NEW  ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

neither  of  you  believe  one  word  that  you  are  saying,  which 
makes  it  the  more  wicked  and  silly." 

"  She's  a  trump !  "  cried  Northmour.  "  But  she's  not  yet 
Mrs.  Cassilis.     I  say  no  more.     The  present  is  not  for  me." 

Then  my  wife  surprised  me. 

"  I  leave  you  here,"  she  said  suddenly.  *'  My  father  has 
been  too  long  alone.  But  remember  this:  you  are  to  be 
friends,  for  you  are  both  good  friends  to  me." 

She  has  since  told  me  her  reason  for  this  step.  As  long 
as  she  remained,  she  declares  that  we  two  would  have  con- 
tinued to  quarrel ;  and  I  suppose  that  she  was  right,  for  when 
she  was  gone  we  fell  at  once  into  a  sort  of  confidentiality. 

Northmour  stared  after  her  as  she  went  away  over  the 
sand-hill. 

"  She  is  the  only  woman  in  the  world !  "  he  exclaimed  with 
an  oath.     "  Look  at  her  action." 

I,  for  my  part,  leaped  at  this  opportunity  for  a  little 
further  hght. 

"  See  here,  Northmour,"  said  I ;  "we  are  all  in  a  tight 
place,  are  we  not.''  " 

*'  I  believe  you,  my  boy,"  he  answered,  looking  me  in  the 
eyes,  and  with  great  emphasis.  "  We  have  all  hell  upon  us, 
that's  the  truth.  You  may  believe  me  or  not,  but  I'm  afraid 
of  my  life." 

"  Tell  me  one  thing,"  said  I.  "  What  are  they  after, 
these  Italians  ?    What  do  they  want  with  Mr.  Huddlestone  "^  " 

"  Don't  you  know.?  "  he  cried.  "  The  black  old  scamp 
had  carhonaro  funds  on  a  deposit — two  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand ;  and  of  course  he  gambled  it  away  on  stocks. 
There  was  to  have  been  a  revolution  in  the  Tridentino,  or 
Parma ;  but  the  revolution  is  off,  and  the  whole  wasp's  nest 
is  after  Huddlestone.  We  shall  all  be  lucky  if  we  can  save 
our  skins." 

"  The  carbonari!  '*  I  exclaimed;  "  God  help  him  indeed!  " 

"  Amen !  "  said  Northmour.  "  And  now,  look  here ;  I 
have  said  that  we  are  in  a  fix ;  and,  frankly,  I  shall  be  glad 
of  your  help.  If  I  can't  save  Huddlestone,  I  want  at  least 
to  save  the  girl.    Come  and  stay  in  the  pavilion ;  and,  there's 

200 


THE   PAVILION   ON   THE   LINKS 

mj  hand  on  It,  I  shall  act  as  your  friend  until  the  old  man 
is  either  clear  or  dead.  But,"  he  added,  "  once  that  is  set- 
tled, you  become  my  rival  once  again,  and  I  warn  you — • 
mind  yourself." 

"  Done !  "  said  I ;  and  we  shook  hands. 

"  And  now  let  us  go  directly  to  the  fort,''  said  North- 
mour;  and  he  began  to  lead  the  way  through  the  rain* 


201 


CHAPTER  VI 

TELLS  OF  MY  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  TALL  MAN 

WE  were  admitted  to  the  pavilion  by  Clara,  and  I  was 
surprised  by  the  completeness  and  security  of  the 
defences.  A  barricade  of  great  strength,  and  yet  easy  to 
displace,  supported  the  door  against  any  violence  from 
without;  and  the  shutters  of  the  dining-room,  into  which  I 
was  led  directly,  and  which  was  feebly  illuminated  by  a 
lamp,  were  even  more  elaborately  fortified.  The  panels  were 
strengthened  by  bars  and  cross-bars ;  and  these,  in  their 
turn,  were  kept  in  position  by  a  system  of  braces  and  struts, 
some  abutting  on  the  floor,  some  on  the  roof,  and  others,  in 
fine,  against  the  opposite  wall  of  the  apartment.  It  was  at 
once  a  solid  and  well-designed  piece  of  carpentry;  and  I 
did  not  seek  to  conceal  my  admiration. 

"  I  am  the  engineer,"  said  Northmour.  "  You  remember 
the  planks  in  the  garden  ?     Behold  them  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  know  you  had  so  many  talents,"  said  I. 

"Are  you  armed.''"  he  continued,  pointing  to  an  array 
of  guns  and  pistols,  all  in  admirable  order,  which  stood  in 
line  against  the  wall  or  were  displaj^ed  upon  the  sideboard. 

"  Thank  you,"  I  returned ;  "  I  have  gone  armed  since  our 
last  encounter.  But,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  had  noth- 
ing to  eat  since  early  yesterday  evening." 

Northmour  produced  some  cold  meat,  to  which  I  eagerly 
set  myself,  and  a  bottle  of  good  Burgundy,  by  which,  wet 
as  I  was,  I  did  not  scruple  to  profit.  I  have  always  been  an 
extreme  temperance  man  on  principle;  but  it  is  useless  to 
push  principle  to  excess,  and  on  this  occasion  I  believe  that 
I  finished  three-quarters  of  the  bottle.  As  I  ate,  I  still  con- 
tinued to  admire  the  preparations  for  defence. 

20^ 


THE   PAVILION    ON   THE   LINKS 

"  We  could  stand  a  siege,"  I  said  at  length. 

*'  Ye — es,"  drawled  Northmour ;  "  a  very  little  one, 
per — haps.  It  is  not  so  much  the  strength  of  the  pavilion  I 
misdoubt ;  it  is  the  double  danger  that  kills  me.  If  we  get  to 
shooting,  wild  as  the  country  is  some  one  is  sure  to  hear  it, 
and  then — why  then  it's  the  same  thing,  only  different,  as 
they  say,  caged  by  law,  or  killed  by  carbonari.  There's  the 
choice.  It  is  a  devilish  bad  thing  to  have  the  law  against 
you  in  this  world,  and  so  I  tell  the  old  gentleman  up  stairs. 
He  is  quite  of  my  way  of  thinking." 

"  Speaking  of  that,"  said  I,  "  what  kind  of  person  is  he." 

"Oh,  he?"  cried  the  other;  "he's  a  rancid  fellow  as  far 
as  he  goes.  I  should  like  to  have  his  neck  wrung  to-morrow 
by  all  the  devils  in  Italy.  I  am  not  in  this  affair  for  him. 
You  take  me.?  I  made  a  bargain  for  Missy's  hand  and  I 
mean  to  have  it,  too." 

"  That,  by  the  way,"  said  I,  "  I  understand.  But  how 
will  Mr.  Huddlestone  take  my  intrusion?  " 

"  Leave  that  to  Clara,"  returned  Northmour. 

I  could  have  struck  him  in  the  face  for  this  coarse  famil- 
iarity ;  but  I  respected  the  truce,  as,  I  am  bound  to  say,  did 
Northmour,  and  so  long  as  the  danger  continued  not  a  cloud 
arose  in  our  relation.  I  bear  him  this  testimony  with  the 
most  unfeigned  satisfaction ;  nor  am  I  without  pride  when  I 
look  back  upon  my  own  behavior.  For  surely  no  two  men 
were  ever  left  in  a  position  so  invidious  and  irritating. 

As  soon  as  I  had  done  eating,  we  proceeded  to  inspect  the 
lower  floor.  Window  by  window  we  tried  the  different  sup- 
ports, now  and  then  making  an  inconsiderable  change ;  and 
the  strokes  of  the  hammer  sounded  with  startling  loudness 
through  the  house.  I  proposed,  I  remember,  to  make  loop- 
holes ;  but  he  told  me  they  were  already  made  in  the  windows 
of  the  upper  story.  It  was  an  anxious  business,  this  inspec- 
tion, and  left  me  down-hearted.  There  were  two  doors  and 
five  windows  to  protect,  and,  counting  Clara,  only  four  of 
us  to  defend  them  against  an  unknown  number  of  foes.  I 
communicated  my  doubts  to  Northmour,  who  assured  me, 
with  unmoved  composure,  that  he  entirely  shared  them. 

203 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  Before  morning,"  said  he,  "  we  shall  all  be  butchered 
and  buried  in  Graden  Floe.    For  me,  that  is  written.'* 

I  could  not  help  shuddering  at  the  mention  of  the  quick- 
sand, but  reminded  Northmour  that  our  enemies  had  spared 
me  in  the  wood. 

"  Do  not  flatter  yourself,"  said  he.  "  Then  you  were  not 
in  the  same  boat  with  the  old  gentleman ;  now  you  are.  It's 
the  floe  for  all  of  us,  mark  my  words." 

I  trembled  for  Clara;  and  just  then  her  dear  voice  was 
neard  calling  us  to  come  upstairs.  Northmour  showed  me 
the  way,  and,  when  he  had  reached  the  landing,  knocked  at 
the  door  of  what  used  to  be  called  My  Uncle's  Bedroom,  as 
the  founder  of  the  pavilion  had  designed  it  especially  for 
himself. 

"Come  in,  Northmour;  come  in,  dear  Mr.  Cassilis,"  said 
a  voice  from  within. 

Pushing  open  the  door,  Northmour  admitted  me  before 
him  into  the  apartment.  As  I  came  in  I  could  see  the  daugh- 
ter slipping  out  by  the  side  door  into  the  study,  which  had 
been  prepared  as  her  bedroom.  In  the  bed,  which  was  drawn 
back  against  the  wall,  instead  of  standing,  as  I  had  last 
seen  it,  boldly  across  the  window,  sat  Bernard  Huddlestone, 
the  defaulting  banker.  Little  as  I  had  seen  of  him  by  the 
shifting  light  of  the  lantern  on  the  links,  I  had  no  difficulty 
in  recognizing  him  for  the  same.  He  had  a  long  and  sallow 
countenance,  surrounded  by  a  long  red  beard  and  side- 
whiskers.  His  broken  nose  and  high  cheek-bones  gave  him 
somewhat  the  air  of  a  Kalmuck,  and  his  light  eyes  shone  with 
the  excitement  of  a  high  fever.  He  wore  a  skull-cap  of 
black  silk ;  a  huge  Bible  lay  open  before  him  on  the  bed,  with 
a  pair  of  gold  spectacles  in  the  place,  and  a  pile  of  other 
books  lay  on  the  stand  by  his  side.  The  green  curtains  lent 
a  cadaverous  shade  to  his  cheek ;  and,  as  he  sat  propped  on 
pillows,  his  great  stature  was  painfully  hunched,  and  his 
head  protruded  till  it  overhung  his  knees.  I  believe  if  he 
had  not  died  otherwise,  he  must  have  fallen  a  victim  to  con- 
sumption in  the  course  of  but  a  very  few  weeks. 

.    204i 


THE    PAVILION    ON   THE   LINKS 

He  held  out  to  me  a  hand,  long,  thin,  and  disagreeably 
hairy. 

"  Come  in,  come  in,  Mr.  Cassilis,"  said  he.  "  Another 
protector — ahem  ! — another  protector.  Always  welcome  as 
a  friend  of  my  daughter's,  Mr.  Cassilis.  How  they  have 
rallied  about  me,  my  daughter's  friends !  May  God  in 
heaven  bless  and  reward  them  for  it !  " 

I  gave  him  my  hand,  of  course,  because  I  could  not  help 
it;  but  the  sympathy  I  had  been  prepared  to  feel  for  Clara's 
father  was  immediately  soured  by  his  appearance,  and  the 
wheedling,  unreal  tones  in  which  he  spoke. 

"  Cassilis  is  a  good  man,"  said  Northmour;  "worth  ten." 

"  So  I  hear,"  cried  Mr.  Huddlestone  eagerly ;  "  so  my 
girl  tells  me.  Ah,  Mr.  Cassilis,  my  sin  has  found  me  out, 
you  see !  I  am  very  low,  very  low ;  but  I  hope  equally  pen- 
itent. We  must  all  come  to  the  throne  of  grace  at  last,  Mr. 
Cassilis.  For  my  part,  I  come  late  indeed;  but  with  un- 
feigned humility,  I  trust." 

"  Fiddle-de-dee !  "  said  Northmour  roughly. 

"  No,  no,  dear  Northmour !  "  cried  the  banker.  "  You 
must  not  say  that ;  you  must  not  try  to  shake  me.  You  for- 
get, my  dear,  good  boy,  you  forget  I  may  be  called  this  very 
night  before  my  Maker." 

His  excitement  was  pitiful  to  behold;  and  I  felt  myself 
grow  indignant  with  Northmour,  whose  infidel  opinions  I 
well  knew,  and  heartily  derided,  as  he  continued  to  taunt  the 
poor  sinner  out  of  his  humor  of  repentance. 

"  Pooh,  my  dear  Huddlestone!  "  said  he.  "  You  do  your- 
self injustice.  You  are  a  man  of  the  world  Inside  and  out, 
and  were  up  to  all  kinds  of  mischief  before  I  was  bom. 
Your  conscience  is  tanned  like  South  American  leather — 
only  you  forgot  to  tan  your  liver,  and  that,  if  you  will  be- 
lieve me,  is  the  seat  of  the  annoyance." 

"  Rogue,  rogue !  bad  boy !  "  said  Mr.  Huddlestone,  shak- 
ing his  finger.  "  I  am  no  precisian,  if  you  come  to  that ;  I 
always  hated  a  precisian ;  but  I  never  lost  hold  of  something 
better  through  it  all.     I  have  been  a  bad  boy,  Mr.  Cassilis; 

205     . 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

I  do  not  seek  to  deny  that ;  but  It  was  after  my  wife's  death, 
and  you  know,  with  a  widower,  it's  a  different  thing:  Sin- 
ful— I  won't  say  no,  but  there  is  a  gradation,  we  shall  hope. 

And  talking  of  that Hark !  "  he  broke  out  suddenly,  his 

hand  raised,  his  fingers  spread,  his  face  racked  with  interest 
and  terror.  "  Only  the  rain,  bless  God ! "  he  added,  after  a 
pause,  and  with  indescribable  relief. 

For  some  seconds  he  lay  back  among  the  pillows  like 
a  man  near  to  fainting;  then  he  gathered  himself  together, 
and,  in  somewhat  tremulous  tones,  began  once  more  to  thank 
me  for  the  share  I  was  prepared  to  take  in  his  defence. 

"  One  question,  sir,"  said  I,  when  he  had  paused.  "  Is  it 
true  that  you  have  money  with  you?  " 

He  seemed  annoyed  by  the  question,  but  admitted  with 
reluctance  that  he  had  a  little. 

"  Well,"  I  continued,  "  It  Is  their  money  they  are  after, 
is  it  not?     Why  not  give  It  up  to  them?  " 

"  Ah !  "  replied  he,  shaking  his  head,  "  I  have  tried  that 
already,  Mr.  Cassilis ;  and  alas !  that  it  should  be  so,  but  it 
is  blood  they  want." 

"  Huddlestone,  that's  a  little  less  than  fair,"  said  North- 
mour.  "  You  should  mention  that  what  you  offered  them 
was  upwards  of  two  hundred  thousand  short.  The  deficit 
is  worth  a  reference;  it  Is  for  what  they  call  a  cool  sum, 
Frank.  Then,  you  see,  the  fellows  reason  In  their  clear 
Italian  way;  and  It  seems  to  them,  as  Indeed  It  seems  to  me, 
that  they  may  just  as  well  have  both  while  they  are  about 
it — money  and  blood  together,  by  George,  and  no  more 
trouble  for  the  extra  pleasure." 
"  Is  it  in  the  pavilion?  "  I  asked. 

"  It  is  ;  and  I  wish  It  was  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea  instead," 
said  Northmour ;  and  then  suddenly — "  What  are  vou  mak- 
ing faces  at  me  for?  "  he  cried  to  Mr.  Huddlestone,  on  whom 
I  had  unconsciously  turned  my  back.  "  Do  you  think  Cas- 
silis would  sell  you  ?  " 

Mr.  Huddlestone  protested  that  nothing  had  been  further 
from  his  mind. 

"  It  is  a  good  thing,"  retorted  Northmour  in  his  ugliest 

20(5 


THE   PAVILION    ON   THE   LINKS 

manner.  "  You  might  end  by  wearying  us.  What  were  you 
going  to  say?  "  he  added,  turning  to  me. 

"  I  was  going  to  propose  an  occupation  for  the  after- 
noon," said  I.  "  Let  us  carry  that  money  out,  piece  by 
piece,  and  lay  it  down  before  the  pavilion  door.  If  the  car- 
bonari  come,  why,  it's  theirs  at  any  rate." 

"  No,  no,"  cried  Mr.  Huddlestone ;  "  it  does  not,  it  can- 
not belong  to  them!  It  should  be  distributed  pro  rata 
among  all  my  creditors." 

"  Come,  now,  Huddlestone,"  said  Northmour,  "  none  of 
that." 

"  Well,  but  my  daughter,"  moaned  the  wretched  man. 

**  Your  daughter  will  do  well  enough.  Here  are  two 
suitors,  Cassilis  and  I,  neither  of  us  beggars,  between  whom 
she  has  to  choose.  And  as  for  yourself,  to  make  an  end  of 
arguments,  you  have  no  right  to  a  farthing,  and,  unless  I'm 
much  mistaken,  you  are  going  to  die." 

It  was  certainly  very  cruelly  said;  but  Mr.  Huddlestone 
was  a  man  who  attracted  little  sympathy ;  and,  although  I 
saw  him  wince  and  shudder,  I  mentally  endorsed  the  rebuke ; 
nay,  I  added  a  contribution  of  my  own. 

"  Northmour  and  I,"  I  said,  "  are  willing  enough  to  help 
you  to  save  your  life,  but  not  to  escape  with  stolen  prop- 
erty." 

He  struggled  for  a  while  with  himself,  as  though  he  were 
on  the  point  of  giving  way  to  anger,  but  prudence  had  the 
best  of  the  controversy. 

"  My  dear  boys,"  he  said,  "  do  with  me  or  my  money  what 
you  will.  I  leave  all  in  your  hands.  Let  me  compose 
myself." 

And  so  we  left  him,  gladly  enough  I  am  sure.  The  last 
that  I  saw,  he  had  once  more  taken  up  his  great  Bible,  and 
with  tremulous  hands  was  adjusting  his  spectacles  to  read. 


207 


CHAPTER    VII 

TEliLS  HOW  A  WORD   WAS   CRIED   THROUGH   THE   PAVILION 
WINDOW 

THE  recollection  of  that  afternoon  will  always  be  graven 
on  my  mind.  Northmour  and  I  were  persuaded  that 
an  attack  was  imminent ;  and  if  it  had  been  in  our  power  to 
alter  in  any  way  the  order  of  events,  that  power  would  have 
been  used  to  precipitate  rather  than  delay  the  critical  mo- 
ment. The  worst  was  to  be  anticipated ;  yet  we  could  con- 
ceive no  extremity  so  miserable  as  the  suspense  we  were  now 
suffering.  I  have  never  been  an  eager,  though  always  a 
great,  reader ;  but  I  never  knew  books  so  insipid  as  those 
which  I  took  up  and  cast  aside  that  afternoon  in  the  pavilion. 
Even  talk  became  impossible,  as  the  hours  went  on.  One  or 
other  was  always  listening  for  some  sound,  or  peering  from 
an  upstairs  window  over  the  links.  And  yet  not  a  sign  in- 
dicated the  presence  of  our  foes. 

We  debated  over  and  over  again  my  proposal  with  regard 
to  the  money;  and  had  we  been  in  complete  possession  of 
our  faculties,  I  am  sure  we  should  have  condemned  it  as  un- 
wise ;  but  we  were  flustered  with  alarm,  grasped  at  a  straw, 
and  determined,  although  it  was  as  much  as  advertising  Mr. 
Huddlestone's  presence  in  the  pavilion,  to  carry  my  proposal 
into  eifect. 

The  sum  was  part  in  specie,  part  in  bank  paper,  and  part 
In  circular  notes,  payable  to  the  name  of  James  Gregory. 
We  took  it  out,  counted  it,  enclosed  it  once  more  in  a 
despatch-box  belonging  to  Northmour,  and  prepared  a  let- 
ter in  Italian  which  he  tied  to  the  handle.  It  was  signed  by 
both  of  us  under  oath,  and  declared  that  this  was  all  the 
money  which  had  escaped  the  failure  of  the  house  of  Huddle- 
stone.      This   was,  perhaps,  the  maddest   action   ever  per- 

208 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

petrated  by  two  persons  professing  to  be  sane.  Had  the 
despatch-box  fallen  into  other  hands  than  those  for  which 
it  was  intended,  we  stood  criminally  convicted  on  our  own 
"written  testimony ;  but,  as  I  have  said,  we  were  neither  of 
us  in  a  condition  to  judge  soberly,  and  had  a  thirst  for 
action  that  drove  us  to  do  something,  right  or  wrong,  rather 
than  endure  the  agony  of  waiting.  Moreover,  as  we  were 
both  convinced  that  the  hollows  of  the  links  were  alive  with 
hidden  spies  upon  our  movements,  we  hoped  that  our  appear- 
ance with  the  box  might  lead  to  a  parley,  and,  perhaps,  a 
compromise. 

It  was  nearly  three  when  we  issued  from  the  pavilion. 
The  rain  had  taken  off;  the  sun  shone  quite  cheerfully.  I 
have  never  seen  the  gulls  fly  so  close  about  the  house  or  ap- 
proach so  fearlessly  to  human  beings.  On  the  very  doorstep 
one  flapped  heavily  past  our  heads,  and  uttered  its  wild  cry 
in  my  very  ear. 

"  There  is  an  omen  for  you,"  said  Northmour,  who  like 
all  freethinkers  was  much  under  the  influence  of  superstition. 
"  They  think  we  are  already  dead." 

I  made  some  light  rejoinder,  but  it  was  with  half  my 
heart ;  for  the  circumstance  had  impressed  me. 

A  yard  or  two  before  the  gate,  on  a  patch  of  smooth 
turf,  we  set  down  the  despatch  box;  and  Northmour  waved 
a  white  handkerchief  over  his  head.  Nothing  replied.  We 
raised  our  voices,  and  cried  aloud  in  Italian  that  we  were 
ihere  as  ambassadors  to  arrange  the  quarrel;  but  the  still- 
ness remained  unbroken  save  by  the  sea-gulls  and  the  surf. 
I  had  a  weight  at  my  heart  when  we  desisted;  and  I  saw 
that  even  Northmour  was  unusually  pale.  He  looked  over 
his  shoulder  nervously,  as  though  he  feared  that  some  one 
had  crept  between  him  and  the  pavilion  door. 

"  By  God,"  he  said  in  a  whisper,  "  this  is  too  much 
for  me !  " 

I  replied  in  the  same  key ;  "  Suppose  there  should  be 
none,  after  all !  " 

"  Look  there,"  he  returned,  nodding  with  his  head,  as 
though  he  had  been  afraid  to  point. 

209 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

I  glanced  in  the  direction  indicated;  and  there,  from  the 
northern  corner  of  the  Sea-Wood,  beheld  a  thin  column  of 
smoke  rising  steadily  against  the  now  cloudless  sky. 

"  Northmour,"  I  said  (we  still  continued  to  talk  in 
whispers),  "it  is  not  possible  to  endure  this  suspense.  I 
prefer  death  fifty  times  over.  Stay  you  here  to  watch  the 
pavilion ;  I  will  go  forward  and  make  sure,  if  I  have  to  walk 
right  into  their  camp." 

He  looked  once  again  all  around  him  with  puckered  eyes. 
and  then  nodded  assentingly  to  my  proposal. 

My  heart  beat  like  a  sledge-hammer  as  I  set  out  walking 
rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  smoke ;  and  though  up  to  that 
moment  I  had  felt  chill  and  shivering,  I  was  suddenly  con- 
scious of  a  glow  of  heat  over  all  my  body.  The  ground  in 
this  direction  was  very  uneven ;  a  hundred  men  might  have 
lain  hidden  in  as  many  square  yards  about  my  path.  But  I 
had  not  practiced  the  business  in  vain,  chose  such  routes  as 
cut  at  the  very  root  of  concealment,  and,  by  keeping  along 
the  most  convenient  ridges,  commanded  several  hollows  at  a 
time.  It  was  not  long  before  I  was  rewarded  for  my  caution. 
Coming  suddenly  on  to  a  mound  somewhat  more  elevated 
than  the  surrounding  hummocks  I  saw,  not  thirty  yards 
away,  a  man  bent  almost  double,  and  running  as  fast  as  his 
attitude  permitted,  along  the  bottom  of  a.  gully.  I  had  dis- 
lodged one  of  the  spies  from  his  ambush.  As  soon  as  I 
sighted  him,  I  called  loudly  both  in  English  and  Italian ;  and 
he,  seeing  concealment  was  no  longer  possible,  straightened 
himself  out,  leaped  from  the  gully,  and  made  off  as  straight 
as  an  arrow  for  the  borders  of  the  wood. 

It  was  none  of  my  business  to  pursue ;  I  had  learned  what 
I  wanted — that  we  were  beleaguered  and  watched  in  the 
pavilion;  and  I  returned  at  once,  and  walking  as  nearly  as 
possible  in  my  old  footsteps,  to  where  Northmour  awaited 
me  beside  the  despatch-box.  He  was  even  paler  than  when 
I  had  left  him  and  his  voice  shook  a  little. 

"  Could  you  see  what  he  was  like  ?  "  he  asked. 

**  He  kept  his  back  turned,"  I  replied. 


THE   PAVILION    ON   THE  LINKS 

"  Let  us  go  into  the  house,  Frant.  I  don't  think  I'm  a 
coward,  but  I  can  stand  no  more  of  this,"  he  whispered. 

All  was  still  and  sunshiny  about  the  pavilion  as  we  turned 
to  re-enter  it ;  even  the  gulls  had  flown  in  a  wider  circuit, 
and  were  seen  flickering  along  the  beach  and  sand-hills ;  and 
this  loneliness  terrified  me  more  than  a  regiment  under  arms. 
It  was  not  until  the  door  was  barricaded  that  I  could  draw 
a  full  inspiration  and  relieve  the  weight  that  lay  upon  my 
bosom.  Northmour  and  I  exchanged  a  steady  glance;  and 
I  suppose  each  made  his  own  reflections  on  the  white  and 
startled  aspect  of  the  other. 

"  You  were  right,"  I  said.  "  All  is  over.  Shake  hands, 
old  man,  for  the  last  time." 

"  Yes,"  replied  he,  "  I  will  shake  hands ;  for,  as  sure  as 
I  am  here,  I  bear  no  malice.  But,  remember,  if,  by  some 
impossible  accident,  we  should  give  the  slip  to  these  black- 
guards, I'll  take  the  upper  hand  of  you  by  fair  or  foul." 

"  Oh,"  said  I,  "  you  weary  me." 

He  seemed  hurt,  and  walked  away  in  silence  to  the  foot  of 
the  stairs,  where  he  paused. 

"  You  do  not  understand  me,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not  a 
swindler,  and  I  guard  m^^self ;  that  is  all.  It  may  weary  you 
or  not,  Mr.  Cassilis,  I  do  not  care  a  rush;  I  speak  for  my 
own  satisfaction,  and  not  for  your  amusement.  You  had 
better  go  upstairs  and  court  the  girl;  for  my  part,  I  stay 
here." 

"  And  I  stay  with  you,"  I  returned.  "  Do  you  think  I 
would  steal  a  march,  even  with  your  permission.'"' 

"  Frank,"  he  said,  smiling,  "  it's  a  pity  you  are  an  ass, 
for  you  have  the  makings  of  a  man.  I  think  I  must  be  fey 
to-day ;  you  cannot  irritate  me,  even  when  you  try.  Do  you 
know,"  he  continued  softly,  "  I  think  we  are  the  two  most 
miserable  men  in  England,  you  and  I.''  we  have  got  on  to 
thirty  without  wife  or  child,  or  so  much  as  a  shop  to  look 
after — ^poor,  pitiful,  lost  devils,  both!  And  now  we  clash 
about  a  girl !  As  if  there  were  not  several  millions  in  the 
United  Kingdom!    Ah,  Frank,  Frank,  the  one  who  loses  his 

211 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

throw,  be  it  you  or  me,  he  has  my  pity !  It  were  better  for 
him — ^how  does  the  Bible  say? — that  a  millstone  were  hanged 
about  his  neck  and  he  were  cast  into  the  depth  of  the  sea. 
Let  us  take  a  drink."  he  concluded  suddenly,  but  without 
any  levity  of  tone. 

I  was  touched  by  his  words,  and  consented.  He  sat  down 
on  the  table  in  the  dining-room,  and  held  up  the  glass  of 
sherry  to  his  eye. 

"  If  you  beat  me,  Frank,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  take  to  drink. 
What  will  you  do,  if  it  goes  the  other  way?  " 

"  God  knows,"  I  returned. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  *'  here  is  a  toast  in  the  meantime : 
*  Italia  irredenta!  '  " 

The  remainder  of  the  day  was  passed  in  the  same  dread- 
ful tedium  and  suspense.  I  laid  the  table  for  dinner,  while 
Northmour  and  Clara  prepared  the  meal  together  in  the 
kitchen.  I  could  hear  their  talk  as  I  went  to  and  fro,  and 
was  surprised  to  find  it  ran  all  the  time  upon  myself.  North- 
mour again  bracketed  us  together,  and  rallied  Clara  on  a 
choice  of  husbands ;  but  he  continued  to  speak  of  me  with 
some  feeling,  and  uttered  nothing  to  my  prejudice  unless 
he  included  himself  in  the  condemnation.  This  awakened  a 
sense  of  gratitude  in  my  heart,  which  combined  with  the 
immediateness  of  our  peril  to  fill  my  eyes  with  tears.  After 
all,  I  thought — and  perhaps  the  thought  was  laughably 
vain — we  were  here  three  very  noble  human  beings  to  perish 
in  defense  of  a  thieving  banker. 

Before  we  sat  down  to  table,  I  looked  forth  from  an 
upstairs  window.  The  day  was  beginning  to  decline;  the 
links  were  utterly  deserted;  the  despatch-box  still  lay  un- 
touched where  we  had  left  it  hours  before. 

Mr.  Huddlestone,  in  a  long  yellow  dressing-gown,  took 
one  end  of  the  table,  Clara  the  other;  while  Northmour  and 
I  faced  each  other  from  the  sides.  The  lamp  was  brightly 
trimmed ;  the  wine  was  good ;  the  viands,  although  mostly 
cold,  excellent  of  their  sort.  We  seemed  to  have  agreed 
tacitly ;  all  reference  to  the  impending  catastrophe  was  care- 
fully  avoided;  and,  considering  our  tragic   circumstances, 

212 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

we  made  a  merrier  party  than  could  have  been  expected. 
From  time  to  time,  it  is  true,  Northmour  or  I  would  rise 
from  the  table  and  make  a  round  of  the  defences ;  and,  on 
each  of  these  occasions  Mr.  Huddlestone  was  recalled  to  a 
sense  of  his  tragic  predicament,  glanced  up  with  ghastly 
eyes,  and  bore  for  an  instant  on  his  countenance  the  stamp 
of  terror.  But  he  hastened  to  empty  his  glass,  wiped  his 
forehead  with  his  handkerchief,  and  joined  again  in  the 
conversation. 

I  was  astonished  at  the  wit  and  information  he  displayed. 
Mr.  Huddlestone's  was  certainly  no  ordinary  character ;  he 
had  read  and  observed  for  himself;  his  gifts  were  sound; 
and,  though  I  could  never  have  learned  to  love  the  man,  1 
began  to  understand  his  success  in  business,  and  the  great 
respect  in  which  he  had  been  held  before  his  failure.  He  had, 
above  all,  the  talent  of  society ;  and  though  I  never  heard 
him  speak  but  on  this  one  and  most  unfavorable  occasion,  I 
set  him  down  among  the  most  brilliant  conversationalists  I 
ever  met. 

He  was  relating  with  great  gusto,  and  seemingly  no  feel- 
ing of  shame,  the  manoeuvres  of  a  scoundrelly  commission 
merchant  whom  he  had  known  and  studied  in  his  youth,  and 
we  were  all  listening  with  an  odd  mixture  of  mirth  and  em- 
barrassment, when  our  little  party  was  brought  abruptly 
to  an  end  in  the  most  startling  manner. 

A  noise  like  that  of  a  wet  finger  on  the  window-pane  in- 
terrupted Mr.  Huddlestone's  tale ;  and  in  an  instant  we  were 
all  four  as  white  as  paper,  and  sat  tongue-tied  and  motion- 
less round  the  table. 

"  A  snail,"  I  said  at  last ;  for  I  had  heard  that  these 
animals  make  a  noise  somewhat  similar  in  character. 

"  Snail  be  d d !  "  said  Northmour.     "  Hush !  " 

The  same  sound  was  repeated  twice  at  regular  intervals; 
and  then  a  formidable  voice  shouted  through  the  shutters 
the  Italian  word  "  Traditore!  " 

Mr.  Huddlestone  threw  his  head  in  the  air ;  his  eye- 
lids quivered;  next  moment  he  fell  insensible  below  the 
table.     Northmour  and  I  had  each  run  to  the  armory  and 

213 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

seized  a  gun.  Clara  was  on  her  feet  with  her  hand  at  her 
throat. 

So  we  stood  waiting,  for  we  thought  the  hour  of  attack 
was  certainly  come;  but  second  passed  after  second,  and  all 
but  the  surf  remained  silent  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
pavilion. 

"  Quick,"  said  Northmour;  "  upstairs  with  him  before 
they  come." 


tl4 


CHAPTER    VIII 

TELLS  THE  LAST  OF  THE  TALL  MAN 

SOMEHOW  or  other,  by  hook  and  crook,  and  between 
the  three  of  us,  we  got  Bernard  Huddlestone  bundled 
upstairs  and  laid  upon  the  bed  in  My  Uncle's  Room.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  process,  which  was  rough  enough,  he  gave  no 
sign  of  consciousness,  and  he  remained,  as  we  had  thrown 
him,  without  changing  the  position  of  a  finger.  His  daugh- 
ter opened  his  shirt  and  began  to  wet  his  head  and  bosom ; 
while  Northmour  and  I  ran  to  the  window.  The  weather 
continued  clear;  the  moon,  which  was  now  about  full,  had 
risen  and  shed  a  very  clear  light  upon  the  links ;  yet,  strain 
our  eyes  as  we  might,  we  could  distinguish  nothing  moving. 
A  few  dark  spots,  more  or  less,  on  the  uneven  expanse  were 
not  to  be  identified;  they  might  be  crouching  men,  they 
might  be  shadows ;  it  was  impossible  to  be  sure. 

"  Thank  God,"  said  Northmour,  "  Aggie  is  not  coming 
to-night." 

Aggie  was  the  name  of  the  old  nurse ;  he  had  not  thought 
of  her  till  now ;  but  that  he  should  think  of  her  at  all,  was  a 
trait  that  surprised  me  in  the  man. 

We  were  again  reduced  to  waiting.  Northmour  went  to 
the  fireplace  and  spread  his  hands  before  the  red  embers,  as 
if  he  were  cold.  I  followed  him  mechanically  with  my  eyes, 
and  in  so  doing  turned  my  back  upon  the  window.  At  that 
moment  a  very  faint  report  was  audible  from  without,  and  a 
ball  shivered  a  pane  of  glass,  and  buried  itself  in  the  shutter 
two  inches  from  my  head.  I  heard  Clara  scream;  and 
though  I  whipped  instantly  out  of  range  and  into  a  corner, 
she  was  there,  so  to  speak,  before  me,  beseeching  to  know  if 
I  were  hurt.  I  felt  that  I  could  stand  to  be  shot  at  every 
day  and  all  day  long,  with  such  marks  of  solicitude  for  a 

215 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

reward ;  and  I  continued  to  reassure  her,  with  the  tenderest 
caresses  and  in  complete  forgetfulness  of  our  situation,  till 
the  voice  of  Northmour  recalled  me  to  myself. 

"  An  air-gun,"  he  said.     "  They  wish  to  make  no  noise." 

I  put  Clara  aside,  and  looked  at  him.  He  was  standing 
with  his  back  to  the  fire  and  his  hands  clasped  behind  him ; 
and  I  knew  by  the  black  look  on  his  face,  that  passion  was 
boiling  within.  I  had  seen  just  such  a  look  before  he  at- 
tacked me,  that  March  night,  in  the  adjoining  chamber; 
and,  though  I  could  make  every  allowance  for  his  anger,  I 
confess  I  trembled  for  the  consequences.  He  gazed  straight 
before  him ;  but  he  could  see  us  with  the  tail  of  his  eye,  and 
his  temper  kept  rising  like  a  gale  of  wind.  With  regular 
battle  awaiting  us  outside,  this  prospect  of  an  internecine 
strife  within  the  walls  began  to  daunt  me. 

Suddenly,  as  I  was  thus  closely  watching  his  expression 
and  prepared  against  the  worst,  I  saw  a  change,  a  flash,  a 
look  of  relief,  upon  his  face.  He  took  up  the  lamp  which 
stood  beside  him  on  the  table,  and  turned  to  us  with  an  air 
of  some  excitement. 

"  There  is  one  point  that  we  must  know,"  said  he.  "  Are 
they  going  to  butcher  the  lot  of  us,  or  only  Huddlestone .? 
Did  they  take  you  for  him,  or  fire  at  you  for  your  own 
beaux  ycaux?  " 

"  They  took  me  for  him,  for  certain,"  I  replied.  "  I  am 
near  as  tall,  and  my  head  is  fair." 

"  I  am  going  to  make  sure,"  returned  Northmour ;  and  he 
stepped  up  to  the  window,  holding  the  lamp  above  his  head, 
and  stood  there,  quietly  affronting  death,  for  half  a  minute. 

Clara  sought  to  rush  forward  and  pull  him  from  the  place 
of  danger;  but  I  had  the  pardonable  selfishness  to  hold  her 
back  by  force. 

"  Yes,"  said  Northmour,  turning  coolly  from  the  window ; 
"  it's  only  Huddlestone  they  want." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Northmour !  "  cried  Clara ;  but  found  no  more 
to  add;  the  temerity  she  had  just  witnessed  seeming  beyond 
the  reach  of  words. 

He,  on  his  part,  looked  at  me,  cocking  his  head,  with  a 

216 


THE    PAVILIOX    ON    THE   LIXKS 

fire  of  triumph  In  his  ej-es ;  and  I  understood  at  once  that 
he  had  thus  hazarded  his  life,  merely  to  attract  Clara's 
notice,  and  depose  me  from  my  position  as  the  hero  of  the 
hour.     He  snapped  his  fingers. 

"  The  fire  is  only  beginning,"  he  said.  "  When  they  warm 
up  to  their  work,  they  won't  be  so  particular." 

A  voice  was  now  heard  hailing  us  from  the  entrance. 
From  the  window  we  could  see  the  figure  of  a  man  in  the 
moonlight;  he  stood  motionless,  his  face  uplifted  to  ours, 
and  a  rag  of  something  white  on  his  extended  arm ;  and  as 
we  looked  right  down  upon  him,  though  he  was  a  good  many 
yards  distant  on  the  links,  we  could  see  the  moonlight  ghtter 
on  his  eyes. 

He  opened  his  lips  again,  and  spoke  for  some  minutes  on 
end,  in  a  key  so  loud  that  he  might  have  been  heard  In  every 
corner  of  the  pavilion,  and  as  far  away  as  the  borders  of 
the  wood.  It  was  the  same  voice  that  had  already  shouted 
*'  Traditore!  "  through  the  shutters  of  the  dining-room ; 
this  time  it  made  a  complete  and  clear  statement.  If  the 
traitor  "  Oddlestone  "  were  given  up,  all  others  should  be 
spared;  if  not,  no  one  should  escape  to  tell  the  tale. 

"Well,  Huddlestone,  what  do  you  say  to  that.?"  asked 
Northmour,  turning  to  the  bed. 

Up  to  that  moment  the  banker  had  given  no  sign  of  life, 
and  I,  at  least,  had  supposed  him  to  be  still  lying  in  a  faint ; 
but  he  replied  at  once,  and  in  such  tones  as  I  have  never 
heard  elsewhere,  save  from  a  delirious  patient,  adjured  and 
besought  us  not  to  desert  him.  It  was  the  most  hideous  and 
abject  performance  that  my  imagination  can  conceive. 

"  Enough,"  cried  Northmour ;  and  then  he  threw  opeil 
the  window,  leaned  out  Into  the  night,  and  in  a  tone  of 
exultation,  and  with  a  total  forgetfulness  of  what  was  due 
to  the  presence  of  a  lady,  poured  out  upon  the  ambassador 
a  string  of  the  most  abominable  railler3"  both  in  English  and 
Italian,  and  bade  him  be  gone  where  he  had  come  from.  I 
believe  that  nothing  so  delighted  Northmour  at  that  moment 
as  the  thought  that  we  must  all  infallibly  perish  before  the 
night  was  out. 

S17 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Meantime  the  Italian  put  his  flag  of  truce  into  his  pocket, 
and  disappeared,  at  a  leisurely  pace,  among  the  sand-hills. 

"  They  make  honorable  war,"  said  Northmour.  "  They 
are  all  gentlemen  and  soldiers.  For  the  credit  of  the  thing, 
I  wish  we  could  change  sides — you  and  I,  Frank,  and  you 
too,  Missy  my  darling — and  leave  that  being  on  the  bed  to 
some  one  else.  Tut !  Don't  look  shocked !  We  are  all  going 
post  to  what  they  call  eternity,  and  may  as  well  be  above- 
board  while  there's  time.  As  far  as  I'm  concerned,  if  I  could 
first  strangle  Huddlestone  and  then  get  Clara  in  my  arms, 
I  could  die  with  some  pride  and  satisfaction.  And  as  it  is, 
by  God,  I'll  have  a  kiss ! " 

Before  I  could  do  anything  to  interfere,  he  had  rudely 
embraced  and  repeatedly  kissed  the  resisting  girl.  Next 
moment  I  had  pulled  him  away  with  fury,  and  flung  him 
heavily  against  the  wall.  He  laughed  loud  and  long,  and  I 
feared  his  wits  had  given  way  under  the  strain ;  for  even  in 
the  best  of  days  he  had  been  a  sparing  and  a  quiet  laugher. 

"  Now,  Frank,"  said  he,  when  his  mirth  was  somewhat 
appeased,  "  it's  your  turn.  Here's  my  hand.  Good-bye ; 
farewell ! "  Then,  seeing  me  stand  rigid  and  indignant, 
and  holding  Clara  to  my  side — "  Man !  "  he  broke  out,  "  are 
you  angry?  Did  you  think  we  were  going  to  die  with  all 
the  airs  and  graces  of  society .^^  I  took  a  kiss;  I'm  glad  I 
had  it ;  and  now  you  can  take  another  if  you  like,  and  square 
accounts." 

I  turned  from  him  with  a  feeling  of  contempt  which  I 
did  not  seek  to  dissemble. 

"  As  you  please,"  said  he.  "  You've  been  a  prig  in  life ; 
a  prig  you'll  die." 

And  with  that  he  sat  down  in  a  chair,  a  rifle  over  the  knee, 
and  amused  himself  with  snapping  the  lock;  but  I  could  see 
that  his  ebullition  of  light  spirits  (the  only  one  I  ever  knew 
him  to  display)  had  already  come  to  an  end,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  sullen,  scowling  humor. 

All  this  time  our  assailants  might  have  been  entering  the 
house,  and  we  been  none  the  wiser;  we  had  in  truth  almost 
forgotten  the  danger  that  so  imminently  overhung  our  days. 

21S 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

But  just  then  Mr.  Huddlestone  uttered  a  cry,  and  leaped 
from  the  bed. 

I  asked  him  what  was  wrong. 

"  Fire !  "  he  cried.     "  They  have  set  the  house  on  fire!  " 

Northmour  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  and  he  and  I 
ran  through  the  door  of  communication  with  the  study.  The 
room  was  illuminated  by  a  red  and  angry  light.  Almost  at 
the  moment  of  our  entrance,  a  tower  of  flame  arose  in  front 
of  the  window,  and,  with  a  tingling  report,  a  pane  fell  in- 
wards on  the  carpet.  They  had  set  fire  to  the  lean-to  out- 
house, where  Northmour  used  to  nurse  his  negatives. 

"  Hot  work,"  said  Northmour.  "  Let  us  try  in  your  old 
room." 

We  ran  thither  in  a  breath,  threw  up  the  casement,  and 
looked  forth.  Along  the  whole  back  wall  of  the  pavilion 
piles  of  fuel  had  been  arranged  and  kindled ;  and  it  is  prob- 
able they  had  been  drenched  with  mineral  oil,  for,  in  spite  of 
the  morning's  rain,  they  all  burned  bravely.  The  fire  had 
taken  a  firm  hold  already  on  the  outhouse,  which  blazed 
higher  and  higher  every  moment;  the  back  door  was  in  the 
centre  of  a  red-hot  bonfire;  the  eaves  we  could  see,  as  we 
looked  upward,  were  already  smouldering,  for  the  roof  over- 
hung, and  was  supported  by  considerable  beams  of  wood. 
At  the  same  time,  hot,  pungent,  and  choking  volumes  of 
smoke  began  to  fiU  the  house.  There  was  not  a  human  being 
to  be  seen  to  right  or  left. 

"  Ah,  well ! "  said  Northmour,  "  here's  the  end,  thank 
God." 

And  we  returned  to  My  Uncle's  Room.  IMr.  Huddlestone 
was  putting  on  his  boots,  still  violently  trembling,  but  with 
an  air  of  determination  such  as  I  had  not  hitherto  observed. 
Clara  stood  close  by  him,  with  her  cloak  in  both  hands  ready 
to  throw  about  her  shoulders,  and  a  strange  look  in  her  eyes, 
as  if  she  were  half  hopeful,  half  doubtful  of  her  father. 

"  Well,  boys  and  girls,"  said  Northmour,  "  how  about  a 
sally.''  The  oven  is  heating;  it  is  not  good  to  stay  here  and 
be  baked;  and,  for  my  part,  I  want  to  come  to  my  hands 
with  them,  and  be  done." 

219 


NEW  ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  There  is  nothing  else  left,"  I  replied. 

And  both  Clara  and  Mr.  Huddlestone,  though  with  a  very 
different  intonation,  added,  "  Nothing." 

As  we  went  downstairs  the  heat  was  excessive,  and  the 
roaring  of  the  fire  filled  our  ears ;  and  we  had  scarce  reached 
the  passage  before  the  stairs  window  fell  in,  a  branch  of 
flame  shot  brandishing  through  the  aperture,  and  the  in- 
terior of  the  pavilion  became  lit  up  with  that  dreadful  and 
fluctuating  glare.  At  the  same  moment  we  heard  the  fall  of 
something  heavy  and  inelastic  in  the  upper  story.  The 
whole  pavilion,  it  was  plain,  had  gone  alight  like  a  box  of 
matches,  and  now  not  only  flamed  sky-high  to  land  and  sea, 
but  threatened  with  every  moment  to  crumble  and  fall  in 
about  our  ears. 

Northmour  and  I  cocked  our  revolvers.  Mr.  Huddlestone, 
who  had  already  refused  a  firearm,  put  us  behind  him  with 
a  manner  of  command. 

**  Let  Clara  open  the  door,"  said  he.  "  So,  if  they  fire  a 
volley,  she  will  be  protected.  And  in  the  meantime  stand 
behind  me.  I  am  the  scapegoat;  my  sins  have  found  me 
out." 

I  heard  him,  as  I  stood  breathless  by  his  shoulder,  with  my 
pistol  ready,  pattering  off  prayers  in  a  tremulous,  rapid 
whisper ;  and  I  confess,  horrid  as  the  thought  may  seem,  I 
despised  him  for  thinking  of  supplications  in  a  moment  so 
critical  and  thrilling.  In  the  meantime,  Clara,  who  was  dead 
white  but  still  possessed  her  faculties,  had  displaced  the 
barricade  from  the  front  door.  Another  moment,  and  she 
had  pulled  it  open.  Firelight  and  moonlight  illuminated 
the  links  with  confused  and  changeful  lustre,  and  far 
away  against  the  sky  we  could  see  a  long  trail  of  glowing 
smoke. 

Mr.  Huddlestone,  filled  for  the  moment  with  a  strength 
greater  than  his  own,  struck  Northmour  and  myself  a  back- 
hander in  the  chest;  and  while  we  were  thus  for  the  moment 
incapacitated  from  action,  lifting  his  arms  above  his  head 
like  one  about  to  dive,  he  ran  straight  forward  out  of  the 
paviliono 


THE    PAVILION    OX   THE   LINKS 

"Here  am  I!"  he  cried — "  Huddlestone !  Kill  me,  and 
spare  the  others !  " 

His  sudden  appearance  daunted,  I  suppose,  our  hidden 
enemies ;  for  Northmour  and  I  had  time  to  recover,  to  seize 
Clara  between  us,  one  by  each  arm,  and  to  rush  forth  to  his 
assistance,  ere  anything  further  had  taken  place.  But 
scarce  had  we  passed  the  threshold  when  there  came  near  a 
dozen  reports  and  flashes  from  every  direction  among  the 
hollows  of  the  links.  Mr.  Huddlestone  staggered,  uttered  a 
weird  and  freezing  cry,  threw  up  his  arms  over  his  head,  and 
fell  backward  on  the  turf. 

"  Traditore!    Traditorc!  "  cried  the  invisible  avengers. 

And  just  then,  a  part  of  the  roof  of  the  pavilion  fell  in, 
so  rapid  was  the  progress  of  the  fire.  A  loud,  vague,  and 
horrible  noise  accompanied  the  collapse,  and  a  vast  volume 
of  flame  went  soaring  up  to  heaven.  It  must  have  been 
visible  at  that  moment  from  twenty  miles  out  at  sea,  from 
the  shore  at  Graden  Wester,  and  far  inland  from  the  peak 
of  Graystiel,  the  most  eastern  summit  of  the  Caulder  Hills. 
Bernard  Huddlestone,  although  God  knows  what  were  his 
obsequies,  had  a  fine  pyre  at  the  moment  of  his  death. 


331i 


CHAPTER    IX 

TELIiS  HOW   NORTHMOTJR   CARRIED   OUT  HIS  THREAT 

I  SHOULD  have  the  greatest  difficulty  to  tell  you  what 
followed  next  after  this  tragic  circumstance.  It  is  all 
to  me,  as  I  look  back  upon  it,  mixed,  strenuous,  and  ineffect- 
ual, like  the  struggles  of  a  sleeper  in  a  nightmare.  Clara, 
I  remember,  uttered  a  broken  sigh  and  would  have  fallen  for- 
ward to  earth,  had  not  Northmour  and  I  supported  her  in- 
sensible body.  I  do  not  think  we  were  attacked;  I  do  not 
remember  even  to  have  seen  an  assailant ;  and  I  believe  we 
deserted  Mr.  Huddlestone  without  a  glance.  I  only  remem- 
ber running  like  a  man  in  a  panic,  now  carrying  Clara  alto- 
gether in  my  own  arms,  now  sharing  her  weight  with  North- 
mour, now  scuffling  confusedly  for  the  possession  of  that 
dear  burden.  Why  we  should  have  made  for  my  camp  in  the 
Hemlock  Den,  or  how  we  reached  it,  are  points  lost  forever  to 
my  recollection.  The  first  moment  at  which  I  became  definitely 
sure,  Clara  had  been  suffered  to  fall  against  the  outside  of 
my  little  tent,  Northmour  and  I  were  tumbling  together  on 
the  ground,  and  he,  with  contained  ferocity,  was  striking 
for  my  head  with  the  butt  of  his  revolver.  He  had  already 
twice  wounded  me  on  the  scalp ;  and  it  is  to  the  consequent 
loss  of  blood  that  I  am  tempted  to  attribute  the  sudden 
clearness  of  my  mind. 

I  caught  him  by  the  wrist. 

"  Northmour,"  I  remember  saying,  *'  you  can  kill  me 
afterwards.     Let  us  first  attend  to  Clara." 

He  was  at  that  moment  uppermost.  Scarcely  had  the 
words  passed  my  lips,  when  he  had  leaped  to  his  feet  and 
ran  towards  the  tent;  and  the  next  moment,  he  was  strain- 
ing Clara  to  his  heart  and  covering  her  unconscious  hands 
and  face  with  his  caresses. 

22a 


THE    PAVILION    ON    THE   LINKS 

"Shame!"  I  cried.     "Shame  to  you,  Northmour!" 

And,  giddy  though  I  still  was,  I  struck  him  repeatedly 
upon  the  head  and  shoulders. 

He  relinquished  his  grasp,  and  faced  me  in  the  broken 
moonlight. 

"  I  had  you  under,  and  let  you  go,"  said  he ;  "  and  now 
you  strike  me!     Coward!" 

"  You  are  the  coward,"  I  retorted.  "  Did  she  wish  your 
kisses  while  she  was  still  sensible  of  what  she  wanted?  Not 
she!  And  now  she  may  be  dying;  and  you  waste  this  pre- 
cious time,  and  abuse  her  helplessness.  Stand  aside,  and 
let  me  help  her." 

He  confronted  me  for  a  moment,  white  and  menacing; 
then  suddenly  he  stepped  aside. 

"  Help  her  then,"  said  he. 

I  threw  myself  on  my  knees  beside  her,  and  loosened,  as 
well  as  I  was  able,  her  dress  and  corset ;  but  while  I  was 
thus  engaged,  a  grasp  descended  on  my  shoulder. 

"  Keep  your  hands  off  her,"  said  Northmour  fiercely. 
"  Do  you  think  I  have  no  blood  in  my  veins  ?  " 

"  Northmour,"  I  cried,  "  if  you  will  neither  help  her  your- 
self, nor  let  me  do  so,  do  you  know  that  I  shall  have  to 
kill  you?" 

"  That  is  better ! "  he  cried.  "  Let  her  die  also,  where's 
the  harm?  Step  aside  from  that  girl!  and  stand  up  to 
fight." 

"  You  will  observe,"  said  I,  half-rising,  "  that  I  have  not 
kissed  her  yet." 

"  I  dare  you  to,"  he  cried. 

I  do  not  know  what  possessed  me ;  it  was  one  of  the  things 
I  am  most  ashamed  of  in  my  life,  though,  as  my  wife  used 
to  say,  I  knew  that  my  kisses  would  be  always  welcome  were 
she  dead  or  living ;  down  I  fell  again  upon  my  knees,  parted 
the  hair  from  her  forehead,  and,  with  the  dearest  respect, 
laid  my  lips  for  a  moment  on  that  cold  brow.  It  was  such 
a  caress  as  a  father  might  have  given ;  it  was  such  a  one  as 
was  not  unbecoming  from  a  man  soon  to  die  to  a  woman 
already  dead. 

223 


NEW   AKABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  And  now,"  said  I,  "  I  am  at  your  service,  Mr.  North- 
mour." 

But  I  saw,  to  my  surprise,  that  he  had  turned  his  back 
upon  me. 

"  Do  you  hear?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  do.  If  you  wish  to  fight,  I  am  ready. 
If  not,  go  on  and  save  Clara.     All  is  one  to  me." 

1  did  not  wait  to  be  twice  bidden ;  but,  stooping  again 
over  Clara,  continued  my  efforts  to  revive  her.  She  still 
lay  white  and  lifeless ;  I  began  to  fear  that  her  sweet  spirit 
had  indeed  fled  beyond  recall,  and  horror  and  a  sense  of 
utter  desolation  seized  upon  my  heart.  I  called  her  by  name 
with  the  most  endearing  inflections ;  I  chafed  and  beat  her 
hands ;  now  I  laid  her  head  low,  now  supported  it  against  my 
knee;  but  all  seemed  to  be  in  vain,  and  the  lids  still  lay 
heavy  on  her  eyes. 

"  Northmour,"  I  said,  "  there  is  my  hat.  For  God's  sake 
bring  some  water  from  the  spring." 

Almost  in  a  moment  he  was  by  my  side  with  the  water. 

"  I  have  brought  it  in  my  own,"  he  said.  "  You  do  not 
grudge  me  the  privilege  ?  " 

"  Northmour,"  I  was  beginning  to  say,  as  I  laved  her 
head  and  breast ;  but  he  interrupted  me  savagely. 

"  Oh,  you  hush  up !  "  he  said.  "  The  best  thing  you  coi^ 
do  is  to  say  nothing." 

I  had  certainly  no  desire  to  talk,  my  mind  being  swal- 
lowed up  in  concern  for  my  dear  love  and  her  condition;  so 
I  continued  in  silence  to  do  my  best  towards  her  recovery, 
and,  when  the  hat  was  empty,  returned  it  to  him,  with  one 
word—"  More."  He  had,  perhaps,  gone  several  times  upon 
this  errand,  when  Clara  reopened  her  eyes. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  since  she  is  better,  you  can  spare  me, 
can  you  not?    I  wish  you  a  good  night,  Mr.  Cassilis." 

And  with  that  he  was  gone  among  the  thicket.  I  made 
a  fire,  for  I  had  now  no  fear  of  the  Italians,  who  had  even 
spared  all  the  little  possessions  left  in  my  encampment;  and, 
broken  as  she  was  by  the  excitement  and  the  hideous  catas- 
trophe of  the  evening,  I  managed,  in  one  way  or  another — 

224) 


THE    PAVILIOX    OX    THE   LIXKS 

by  persuasion,  encouragement,  warmth,  and  such  simple 
remedies  as  I  could  lay  hands  on — to  bring  her  back  to  some 
composure  of  mind  and  strength  of  body. 

Day  had  already  come,  "vrhen  a  sharp  "  Hist !  "  sounded 
from  the  thicket.  I  started  from  the  ground ;  but  the  voice 
of  Northmour  was  heard  adding,  in  the  most  tranquil  tones  i 
"  Come  here,  Cassilis,  and  alone ;  I  want  to  show  you  some- 
thing." 

I  consulted  Clara  with  ray  eyes,  and,  receiving  her  tacit 
permission,  left  her  alone,  and  clambered  out  of  the  den. 
At  some  distance  off  I  saw  Northmour  leaning  against  an 
elder;  and,  as  soon  as  he  perceived  me,  he  began  walking 
seaward.  I  had  almost  overtaken  him  as  he  reached  the  out- 
skirts of  the  wood. 

"  Look,"  said  he,  pausing. 

A  couple  of  steps  more  brought  me  out  of  the  foliage. 
The  light  of  the  morning  lay  cold  and  clear  over  that  well- 
known  scene.  The  pavilion  was  but  a  blackened  wreck ;  the 
roof  had  fallen  in,  one  of  the  gables  had  fallen  out;  and, 
far  and  near,  the  face  of  the  links  was  cicatrized  with  little 
patches  of  burnt  furze.  Thick  smoke  still  went  straight  up- 
wards in  the  windless  air  of  the  morning,  and  a  great  pile  of 
ardent  cmders  filled  the  bare  walls  of  the  house,  like  coals  in 
an  open  grate.  Close  by  the  islet  a  schooner  yacht  lay  to,  and 
a  well-manned  boat  was  pulling  vigorously  for  the  shore. 

"  The  Red  Earl!  "  I  cried.  "  The  Red  Earl  twelve  hours 
too  late !  " 

"Feel  in  your  pocket,  Frank.  Are  you  armed.''"  asked 
Northmour. 

I  obeyed  him,  and  I  think  I  must  have  become  deadly 
pale.     My  revolver  had  been  taken  from  me. 

"  You  see  I  have  you  in  my  power,"  he  continued.  "  I 
disarmed  you  last  night  while  you  were  nursing  Clara;  but 
this  morning — here — take  3'our  pistol.  No  thanks  !  "  he 
cried,  holding  up  his  hand.  "  I  do  not  like  them ;  that  is 
the  only  way  you  can  annoy  me  now." 

He  began*  to  walk  forward  across  the  links  to  meet  the 
boat,  and  I  followed  a  step  or  two  behind.     In  front  of  the 

225 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

pavilion  I  paused  to  see  where  Mr.  Huddlestone  had  fallen ; 
but  there  was  no  sign  of  him,  nor  so  much  as  a  trace  of 
blood. 

"  Graden  Floe,"  said  Northmour. 

He  continued  to  advance  till  we  had  come  to  the  head  of 
the  beach. 

"  No  farther,  please,"  said  he.  "  Would  jou  like  to  take 
her  to  Graden  House.''  " 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  I ;  "  I  shall  try  to  get  her  to  the 
minister's  at  Graden  Wester." 

The  prow  of  the  boat  here  grated  on  the  beach,  and  a 
sailor  jumped  ashore  with  a  line  in  his  hand. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  lads ! "  cried  Northmour ;  and  then 
lower  and  to  my  private  ear :  "  You  had  better  say  nothing 
of  all  this  to  her,"  he  added. 

"  On  the  contrary !  "  I  broke  out,  "  she  shall  know  every- 
thing that  I  can  tell." 

"  You  do  not  understand,"  he  returned,  with  an  air  of 
great  dignity.  "  It  will  be  nothing  to  her ;  she  expects  it 
of  me.     Good-bye !  "  he  added,  with  a  nod. 

I  offered  him  my  hand. 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  he.  *'  It's  small,  I  know ;  but  I  can't 
push  things  quite  so  far  as  that.  I  don't  wish  any  senti- 
mental business,  to  sit  by  your  hearth  a  white-haired  wan- 
derer, and  all  that.  Quite  the  contrary:  I  hope  to  God  I 
shall  never  again  clap  eyes  on  either  one  of  you." 

"  Well,  God  bless  you,  Northmour ! "  I  said  heartily. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  he  returned. 

He  walked  down  the  beach;  and  the  man  who  was  ashore 
gave  him  an  arm  on  board,  and  then  shoved  off  and  leaped 
into  the  bows  himself.  Northmour  took  the  tiller;  the  boat 
rose  to  the  waves,  and  the  oars  between  the  thole-pins  sounded 
crisp  and  measured  in  the  air. 

They  were  not  yet  half  way  to  the  Red  Earl,  and  I  was 
still  watching  their  progress,  when  the  sun  rose  out  of  the 
sea. 

One  word  more,  and  my  story  is  done.  Years  after,  North- 
mour was  killed  fighting  under  the  colors  of  Garibaldi  for 
the  liberation  of  Tyrol.  226 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE    NIGHT 

A   STORY    OF   FRANCIS   VILLON 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE    NIGHT, 

IT  was  late  in  November,  1456.  The  snow  fell  over  Paris 
with  rigorous,  relentless  persistence;  sometimes  the  wind 
made  a  sally  and  scattered  it  in  flying  vortices ;  sometimes 
there  was  a  lull,  and  flake  after  flake  descended  out  of  the 
black  night  air,  silent,  circuitous,  interminable.  To  poor 
people,  looking  up  under  moist  eyebrows,  it  seemed  a  wonder 
where  it  all  came  from.  Master  Francis  Villon  had  pro- 
pounded an  alternative  that  afternoon,  at  a  tavern  window: 
was  it  only  Pagan  Jupiter  plucking  geese  upon  Olympus? 
or  were  the  holy  angels  moulting?  He  was  only  a  poor  Mas- 
ter of  Arts,  he  went  on ;  and  as  the  question  somewhat 
touched  upon  divinity,  he  durst  not  venture  to  conclude.  A 
silly  old  priest  from  Montargis,  who  was  among  the  com- 
pany, treated  the  young  rascal  to  a  bottle  of  wine  in  honor 
of  the  jest  and  grimaces  with  which  it  was  accompanied, 
and  swore  on  his  own  white  beard  that  he  had  been  just  such 
another  irreverent  dog  when  he  was  Villon's  age. 

The  air  was  raw  and  pointed,  but  not  far  below  freezing; 
and  the  flakes  were  large,  damp,  and  adhesive.  The  whole 
city  was  sheeted  up.  An  army  might  have  marched  from 
end  to  end  and  not  a  footfall  given  the  alarm.  If  there  were 
any  belated  birds  in  heaven,  they  saw  the  island  like  a  large 
white  patch,  and  the  bridges  like  slim  white  spars,  on  the 
black  ground  of  the  river.  High  up  overhead  the  snow  set- 
tled among  the  tracery  of  the  cathedral  towers.  Many  a 
niche  was  drifted  full;  many  a  statue  wore  a  long  white 
bonnet  on  its  grotesque  or  sainted  head.  The  gargoyles  had 
been  transformed  into  great  false  noses,  drooping  towards 
the  point.  The  crockets  were  like  upright  pillows  swollen  on 
one  side.  In  the  intervals  of  the  wind,  there  was  a  dull 
sound  of  dripping  fvbout  the  precincts  of  the  church. 

229 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

The  cemetery  of  St.  John  had  taken  Its  own  share  of  the 
snow.  All  the  graves  were  decently  covered ;  tall  white  house- 
tops stood  around  in  grave  array;  worthy  burghers  were 
long  ago  in  bed,  be-nightcapped  like  their  domiciles ;  there 
was  no  light  in  all  the  neighborhood  but  a  little  peep  from 
a  lamp  that  hung  swinging  in  the  church  choir,  and  tossed 
the  shadows  to  and  fro  in  time  to  its  oscillations.  The  clock 
was  hard  on  ten  when  the  patrol  went  by  with  halberds  and 
a  lantern,  beating  their  hands ;  and  they  saw  nothing  sus- 
picious about  the  cemetery  of  St.  John. 

Yet  there  was  a  small  house,  backed  up  against  the  ceme- 
tery wall,  which  was  still  awake,  and  awake  to  evil  purpose, 
in  that  snoring  district.  There  was  not  much  to  betray  it 
from  without;  only  a  stream  o*f  warm  vapor  from  the  chim- 
ney-top, a  patch  where  the  snow  melted  on  the  roof,  and  a 
few  half-obliterated  footprints  at  the  door.  But  within, 
behind  the  shuttered  windows.  Master  Francis  ViUon  the 
poet,  and  some  of  the  thievish  crew  with  whom  he  consorted, 
were  keeping  the  night  alive  and  passing  round  the  bottle. 

A  great  pile  of  living  embers  diffused  a  strong  and  ruddy 
glow  from  the  arched  chimney.  Before  this  straddled  Dom 
Nicolas,  the  Picardy  monk,  with  his  skirts  picked  up  and 
his  fat  legs  bared  to  the  comfortable  warmth.  His  dilated 
shadow  cut  the  room  In  half;  and  the  firelight  only  escaped 
on  either  side  of  his  broad  person,  and  in  a  little  pool  be- 
tween his  outspread  feet.  His  face  had  the  beery,  bruised 
appearance  of  the  continual  drinker's;  it  was  covered  with 
a  network  of  congested  veins,  purple  in  ordinary  circum- 
stances, but  now  pale  violet,  for  even  with  his  back  to  the 
fire  the  cold  pinched  him  on  the  other  side.  His  cowl  had 
half  fallen  back,  and  made  a  strange  excrescence  on  either 
side  of  his  bull  neck.  So  he  straddled,  grumbling,  and  cut 
the  room  in  half  with  the  shadow  of  his  portly  frame. 

On  the  right,  Villon  and  Guy  Tabary  were  huddled  to- 
gether over  a  scrap  of  parchment;  Villon  making  a  ballade 
which  he  was  to  call  the  "  Ballade  of  Roast  Fish,"  and 
Tabary  spluttering  admiration  at  his  shoulder.  The  poet 
was  a  rag  of  a  man,  dark,  little,  and  lean,  with  hollow  cheeks 

230 


A   LODGING   FOK   THE    NIGHT 

and  thin  black  locks.  He  carried  his  four-and-twenty  years 
with  feverish  animation.  Greed  had  made  folds  about  his 
eyes,  evil  smiles  had  puckered  his  mouth.  The  wolf  and 
pig  struggled  together  in  his  face.  It  was  an  eloquent, 
sharp,  ugly,  earthly  countenance.  His  hands  were  small  and 
prehensile,  with  fingers  knotted  like  a  cord;  and  they  were 
continually  flickering  in  front  of  him  in  violent  and  expres- 
sive pantomime.  As  for  Tabary,  a  broad,  complacent, 
admiring  imbecility  breathed  from  his  squash  nose  and  slob- 
bering lips:  he  had  become  a  thief,  just  as  he  might  have 
become  the  most  decent  of  burgesses,  by  the  imperious  chance 
that  rules  the  lives  of  human  geese  and  human  donkeys. 

At  the  monk's  other  hand,  Montigny  and  Thevenin  Pensete 
played  a  game  of  chance.  About  the  first  there  clung  some 
flavor  of  good  birth  and  training,  as  about  a  fallen  angel; 
something  long,  lithe,  and  courtly  in  the  person ;  something 
aquiline  and  darkling  in  the  face.  Thevenin,  poor  soul,  was 
in  great  feather:  he  had  done  a  good  stroke  of  knavery  that 
afternoon  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Jaques,  and  all  night  he  had 
been  gaining  from  Montigny.  A  flat  smile  illuminated  his 
face;  his  bald  head  shone  rosily  in  a  garland  of  red  curls; 
his  Httle  protuberant  stomach  shook  with  silent  chucklings 
as  he  swept  in  his  gains. 

"  Doubles  or  quits.''  "  said  Thevenin. 

Montigny  nodded  grimly. 

**  Some  may  prefer  to  dine  in  state,""  wrote  Villon,  "  On 
tread  and  cheese  on  silver  plate.  Or,  or — help  me  out, 
Guido!" 

Tabary  giggled. 

"  Or  parsley  on  a  golden  dish"  scribbled  the  poet. 

The  wind  was  freshening  without;  it  drove  the  snow  be- 
fore it,  and  sometimes  raised  its  voice  in  a  victorious  whoop, 
and  made  sepulchral  grumblings  in  the  chimney.  The  cold 
was  growing  sharper  as  the  night  went  on.  Villon,  pro- 
truding his  lips,  imitated  the  gust  with  something  between 
a  whistle  and  a  groan.  It  was  an  eerie,  uncomfortable  talent 
of  the  poet's,  much  detested  by  the  Picardy  monk. 

"  Can't  you  hear  it  rattle  in  the  gibbet.''  "  said  Villon. 

231 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  They  are  all  dancing  the  devil's  jig  on  nothing,  up  there. 
You  may  dance,  my  gallants,  you'll  be  none  the  warmer! 
Whew!  what  a  gust!  Dov/n  went  somebody  just  now!  A 
medlar  the  fewer  on  the  three-legged  medlar-tree! — I  say, 
Dom  Nicolas,  it'll  be  cold  to-night  on  the  St.  Denis  Road?  " 
he  asked. 

Dom  Nicolas  winked  both  his  big  eyes,  and  seemed  to  choke 
upon  his  Adam's  apple.  Montfaucon,  the  great  grisly  Paris 
gibbet,  stood  hard  by  the  St.  Denis  Road,  and  the  pleasantry 
touched  him  on  the  raw.  As  for  Tabary,  he  laughed  im- 
moderately over  the  medlars ;  he  had  never  heard  anything 
more  light-hearted ;  and  he  held  his  sides  and  crowed.  Villon 
fetched  him  a  fillip  on  the  nose,  which  turned  his  mirth  into 
an  attack  of  coughing. 

"  Oh,  stop  that  now,"  said  Villon,  **  and  think  of  rhymes 
to  *  fish.'  " 

"  Doubles  or  quits,"  said  Montigny  doggedly. 

**  With  all  my  heart,"   quoth  Thevenin.  ♦ 

"  Is  there  any  more  in  that  bottle?  "  asked  the  monk. 

"  Open  another,"  said  Villon.  "  How  do  you  ever  hope 
to  fill  that  big  hogshead,  your  body,  with  httle  things  like 
bottles?  And  how  do  you  expect  to  get  to  Heaven?  How 
many  angels,  do  you  fancy,  can  be  spared  to  carry  up  a 
single  monk  from  Picardy?  Or  do  you  think  yourself  an- 
other Elias— and  they'll  send  the  coach  for  you?  " 

"  Hominibu^  impossibile,"  replied  the  monk  as  he  filled  his 
glass. 

Tabary  was  in  ecstasies. 

Villon  filliped  his  nose  again. 

"Laugh  at  my  jokes,  if  you  like,"  he  said. 

"  It  was  very  good,"  objected  Tabary. 

Villon  made  a  face  at  him.  "  Think  of  rhymes  to  *  fish,'  " 
he  said.  "What  have  you  to  do  with  Latin?  You'll  wish 
you  knew  none  of  it  at  the  great  assizes,  when  the  devil 
calls  for  Guido  Tabary,  clericus — the  devil  with  the  hump- 
back and  red-hot  finger-nails.  Talking  of  the  devil,"  he 
added  in  a  whisper,  "  look  at  Montigny !  " 

AH  three  peered  covertly  at  the  gamester.     He  did  not 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE   NIGHT 

seem  to  be  enjoying  his  luc'k.  His  moutli  was  a  little  to  a 
side;  one  nostril  nearly  shut,  and  the  other  much  inflated. 
The  black  dog  was  on  his  back,  as  people  say,  in  terrifying 
nursery  metaphor ;  and  he  breathed  hard  under  the  gruesome 
burden. 

"  He  looks  as  If  he  could  knife  him,"  whispered  Tabary, 
with  round  eyes. 

The  monk  shuddered,  and  turned  his  face  and  spread 
his  open  hands  to  the  red  embers.  It  was  the  cold  that  thus 
affected  Dom  Nicolas,  and  not  any  excess  of  moral  sensi- 
bility. 

"  Come  now,''  said  Villon — "  about  this  ballade.  How 
does  it  run  so  far,?  '*  And  beating  time  with  his  hand,  he 
read  it  aloud  to  Tabary. 

They  were  interrupted  at  the  fourth  rhyme  by  a  brief 
and  fatal  movement  among  the  gamesters.  The  round  was 
completed,  and  Thevenin  was  just  opening  his  mouth  to 
claim  another  victory,  when  Montigny  leaped  up,  swift  as 
an  adder,  and  stabbed  him  to  the  heart.  The  blow  took 
effect  before  he  had  time  to  utter  a  cry,  before  he  had  time 
to  move.  A  tremor  or  two  convulsed  his  frame;  his  hands 
opened  and  shut,  his  heels  rattled  on  the  floor ;  then  his  head 
rolled  backward  over  one  shoulder  with  the  eyes  wide  open ; 
and  Thevenin  Pensete's  spirit  had  returned  to  Him  who 
made  it. 

Everyone  sprang  to  his  feet;  but  the  business  was  over 
in  two  twos.  The  four  living  fellows  looked  at  each  other 
in  rather  a  ghastly  fashion,  the  dead  man  contemplating  a 
corner  of  the  roof  with  a  singular  and  ugly  leer. 

"  My  God !  "  said  Tabary ;  and  he  began  to  pray  In  Latin. 

Villon  broke  out  into  hysterical  laughter.  He  came  a  step 
forward  and  ducked  a  ridiculous  bow  at  Thevenin,  and 
laughed  still  louder.  Then  he  sat  down  suddenly,  all  of  a 
heap,  upon  a  stool,  and  continued  laughing  bitterly  as 
though  he  would  shake  himself  to  pieces. 

Montigny  recovered  his  composure  first. 

"  Let's  see  what  he  has  about  him,"  he  remarked,  and  he 
picked  the  dead  man's  pockets  with  a  practiced  hand,  and 
233 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

divided  the  money  into  four  equal  portions  on  the  table. 
"  There's  for  you,"  he  said. 

The  monk  received  his  share  with  a  deep  sigh,  and  a  single 
stealthy  glance  at  the  dead  Thevenin,  who  was  beginning  to 
sink  into  himself  and  topple  sideways  off  the  chair. 

"  We're  all  in  for  it,"  cried  Villon,  swallowing  his  mirth. 
"  It's  a  hanging  job  for  every  man  jack  of  us  that's  here 
— not  to  speak  of  those  who  aren't."  He  made  a  shocking 
gesture  in  the  air  with  his  raised  right  hand,  and  put  out  his 
tongue  and  threw  his  head  on  one  side,  so  as  to  counterfeit 
the  appearance  of  one  who  has  been  hanged.  Then  he 
pocketed  his  share  of  the  spoil,  and  executed  a  shuffle  with 
his  feet  as  if  to  restore  the  circulation. 

Tabary  was  the  last  to  help  himself;  he  made  a  dash  at 
the  money,  and  retired  to  the  other  end  of  the  apartment. 

Montigny  stuck  Thevenin  upright  in  the  chair,  and  drew 
out  the  dagger,  which  was  followed  by  a  jet  of  blood. 

"  You  fellows  had  better  be  moving,"  he  said,  as  he  wiped 
the  blade  on  his  victim's  doublet. 

"  I  think  we  had,"  returned  Villon,  with  a  gulp.  "  Damn 
his  fat  head !  "  he  broke  out.  "  It  sticks  in  my  throat  like 
phlegm.  What  right  has  a  man  to  have  red  hair  when  he  is 
dead.''  "  And  he  fell  all  of  a  heap  again  upon  the  stool,  and 
fairly  covered  his  face  with  his  hands. 

Montigny  and  Dom  Nicolas  laughed  aloud,  even  Tabary 
feebly  chiming  in. 

"  Cry  baby,"  said  the  monk. 

"  I  always  said  he  was  a  woman,"  added  Montigny,  with 
a  sneer.  "  Sit  up,  can't  you  ?  "  he  went  on,  giving  another 
shake  to  the  murdered  body.  "  Tread .  out  that  fire, 
Nick!" 

But  Nick  was  better  employed;  he  was  quietly  taking 
Villon's  purse,  as  the  poet  sat,  limp  and  trembling,  on  the 
stool  where  he  had  been  making  a  ballade  not  three  minutes 
before.  Montigny  and  Tabary  dumbly  demanded  a  share 
of  the  booty,  which  the  monk  silently  promised  as  he  passed 
the  little  bag  into  the  bosom  of  his  gown.  In  many  ways  an 
artistic  nature  unfits  a  man  for  practical  existence. 

Z34, 


A   LODGING   FOR    THE    NIGHT 

No  sooner  had  the  theft  been  accomplished  than  Villon 
shook  himself,  jumped  to  his  feet,  and  began  helping  to 
scatter  and  extinguish  the  embers.  Meanwhile  Montigny 
opened  the  door  and  cautiously  peered  into  the  street.  The 
coast  was  clear;  there  was  no  meddlesome  patrol  in  sight. 
Still  it  was  judged  wiser  to  slip  out  severally;  and  as  Villon 
was  himself  in  a  hurry  to  escape  from  the  neighborhood  of 
the  dead  Thevenin,  and  the  rest  were  in  a  still  greater  hurry 
to  get  rid  of  him  before  he  should  discover  the  loss  of  his 
money,  he  was  the  first  by  general  consent  to  issue  forth  into 
the  street. 

The  wind  had  triumphed  and  swept  all  the  clouds  from 
heaven.  Only  a  few  vapors,  as  thin  as  moonlight,  fleeted 
rapidly  across  the  stars.  It  was  bitter  cold ;  and  by  a  com- 
mon optical  effect,  things  seemed  almost  more  definite  than 
in  the  broadest  daylight.  The  sleeping  city  was  absolutely 
still;  a  company  of  white  hoods,  a  field  full  of  little  alps, 
below  the  twinkling  stars.  Villon  cursed  his  fortune. 
Would  it  were  still  snowing !  Now,  wherever  he  went,  he 
left  an  indelible  trail  behind  him  on  the  glittering  streets; 
wherever  he  went  he  was  still  tethered  to  the  house  by  the 
cemetery  of  St.  John ;  wherever  he  went  he  must  weave,  with 
his  own  plodding  feet,  the  rope  that  bound  him  to  the  crime 
and  would  bind  him  to  the  gallows.  The  leer  of  the  dead 
man  came  back  to  him  with  a  new  significance.  He  snapped 
his  fingers  as  if  to  pluck  up  his  own  spirits,  and  choosing 
a  street  at  random,  stepped  boldly  forward  in  the  snow. 

Two  things  preoccupied  him  as  he  went:  the  aspect  of 
the  gallows  at  Montf  aucon  in  this  bright,  windy  phase  of  the 
night's  existence,  for  one ;  and  for  another,  the  look  of  the 
dead  man  with  his  bald  head  and  garland  of  red  curls.  Both 
struck  cold  upon  his  heart,  and  he  kept  quickening  his  pace 
as  if,  he  could  escape  from  unpleasant  thoughts  by  mere 
fleetness  of  foot.  Sometimes  he  looked  back  over  his  shoul- 
der with  a  sudden  nervous  jerk;  but  he  was  the  only  moving 
thing  in  the  white  streets,  except  when  the  wind  swooped 
round  a  corner  and  threw  up  the  snow,  which  was  beginning 
to  freeze,  in  spouts  of  glittering  dust. 

235 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Suddenly  he  saw,  a  long  way  before  him,  a  black  clump 
and  a  couple  of  lanterns.  The  clump  was  in  motion,  and 
the  lanterns  swung  as  though  carried  by  men  walking.  It 
was  a  patrol.  And  though  it  was  merely  crossing  his  line 
of  march  he  judged  it  wiser  to  get  out  of  eyeshot  as  speedily 
as  he  could.  He  was  not  in  the  humor  to  be  challenged,  and 
he  was  conscious  of  making  a  very  conspicuous  mark  upon 
the  snow.  Just  on  his  left  hand  there  stood  a  great  hotel, 
with  some  turrets  and  a  large  porch  before  the  door;  it  was 
half-ruinous,  he  remembered,  and  had  long  stood  empty; 
and  so  he  made  three  steps  of  it,  and  jumped  into  the  shel- 
ter of  the  porch.  It  was  pretty  dark  inside,  after  the  glim- 
mer of  the  snowy  streets,  and  he  was  groping  forward  with 
outspread  hands,  when  he  stumbled  over  some  substance 
which  offered  an  indescribable  mixture  of  resistances,  hard 
and  soft,  firm  and  loose.  His  heart  gave  a  leap,  and  he 
sprang  two  steps  back  and  stared  dreadfully  at  the  obstacle. 
Then  he  gave  a  little  laugh  of  relief.  It  was  only  a  woman, 
and  she  dead.  He  knelt  beside  her  to  make  sure  upon  this 
latter  point.  She  was  freezing  cold,  and  rigid  like  a  stick. 
A  little  ragged  finery  fluttered  in  the  wind  about  her  hair, 
and  her  cheeks  had  been  heavily  rouged  that  same  afternoon. 
Her  pockets  were  quite  empty;  but  in  her  stocking,  under- 
neath the  garter,  Villon  found  two  of  the  small  coins  that 
went  by  the  name  of  whites.  It  was  little  enough;  but  it 
was  always  something;  and  the  poet  was  moved  with  a  deep 
sense  of  pathos  that  she  should  have  died  before  she  had 
spent  her  money.  That  seemed  to  him  a  dark  and  pitiable 
mystery ;  and  he  looked  from  the  coins  in  his  hand  to  the 
dead  woman,  and  back  again  to  the  coins,  shaking  his  head 
over  the  riddle  of  man's  life.  Henry  V.  of  England,  dying 
at  Vincennes  just  after  he  had  conquered  France,  and  this 
poor  jade  cut  off  by  a  cold  draught  in  a  great  man's  door- 
way, before  she  had  time  to  spend  her  couple  of  whites — it 
seemed  a  cruel  way  to  carry  on  the  world.  Two  whites  would 
have  taken  such  a  little  while  to  squander ;  and  yet  it  would 
have  been  one  more  good  taste  in  the  mouth,  one  more  smack 
of  the  lips,  before  the  devil  got  the  soul,  and  the  body  was 

236 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE   NIGHT 

left  to  birds  and  vermin.  He  would  like  to  use  all  his  tallow 
before  the  light  was  blown  out  and  the  lantern  broken. 

While  these  thoughts  were  passing  through  his  mind,  he 
was  feeling,  half  mechanically,  for  his  purse.  Suddenly  his 
heart  stopped  beating ;  a  feeling  of  cold  scales  passed  up  the 
back  of  his  legs,  and  a  cold  blow  seemed  to  fall  upon  his 
scalp.  He  stood  petrified  for  a  moment;  then  he  felt  again 
with  one  feverish  movement;  and  then  his  loss  burst  upon 
him,  and  he  was  covered  at  once  with  perspiration.  To 
spendthrifts  money  is  so  living  and  actual — it  is  such  a  thin 
veil  between  them  and  their  pleasures !  There  is  only  one 
limit  to  their  fortune — that  of  time;  and  a  spendthrift  with 
only  a  few  crowns  is  the  Emperor  of  Rome  until  they  are 
spent.  For  such  a  person  to  lose  his  money  is  to  suffer  the 
most  shocking  reverse,  and  fall  from  heaven  to  hell,  from  all 
to  nothing,  in  a  breath.  And  all  the  more  if  he  has  put  his 
head  in  the  halter  for  it ;  if  he  may  be  hanged  to-morrow  for 
that  same  purpose,  so  dearly  earned,  so  foolishly  departed! 
Villon  stood  and  cursed;  he  threw  the  two  whites  into  the 
street;  he  shook  his  fist  at  heaven;  he  stamped,  and  was  not 
horrified  to  find  himself  trampling  the  poor  corpse.  Then 
he  began  rapidly  to  retrace  his  steps  towards  the  house 
beside  the  cemetery.  He  had  forgotten  all  fear  of  the  patrol, 
which  was  long  gone  by  at  any  rate,  and  had  no  idea  but 
that  of  his  lost  purse.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  looked  right 
and  left  upon  the  snow :  nothing  was  to  be  seen.  He  had  not 
dropped  it  in  the  streets.  Had  it  fallen  in  the  house.-*  He 
would  have  liked  dearly  to  go  in  and  see ;  but  the  idea  of  the 
grisly  occupant  unmanned  him.  And  he  saw  besides,  as  he 
drew  near,  that  their  efforts  to  put  out  the  fire  had  been  un- 
successful ;  on  the  contrary,  it  had  broken  into  a  blaze,  and 
a  changeful  light  played  in  the  chinks  of  door  and  win- 
dow, and  revived  his  terror  for  the  authorities  and  Paris 
gibbet. 

He  returned  to  the  hotel  with  the  porch,  and  groped  about 
upon  the  snow  for  the  money  he  had  thrown  away  in  his 
childish  passion.  But  he  could  only  find  one  white ;  the  other 
had  probably  struck  sideways  and  sunk  deeply  in.     With  a 

237 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

jingle  white  in  his  pocket,  all  his  projects  for  a  rousing 
night  in  some  wild  tavern  vanished  utterly  away.  And 
it  was  not  only  pleasure  that  fled  laughing  from  his  grasp ; 
positive  discomfort,  positive  pain,  attacked  him  as  he  stood 
ruefully  before  the  porch.  His  perspiration  had  dried  upon 
him ;  and  although  the  wind  had  now  fallen,  a  binding  frost 
was  setting  in  stronger  with  every  hour,  and  he  felt  be- 
numbed and  sick  at  heart.  What  was  to  be  done?  Late  as 
was  the  hour,  improbable  as  was  success,  he  would  try  the 
house  of  his  adopted  father,  the  chaplain  of  St,  Benoit. 

He  ran  there  all  the  way,  and  knocked  timidly.  There 
was  no  answer.  He  knocked  again  and  again,  taking  heart 
with  every  stroke;  and  at  last  steps  were  heard  approaching 
from  within.  A  barred  wicket  fell  open  in  the  iron-studded 
door,  and  emitted  a  gush  of  yellow  light. 

"  Hold  up  your  face  to  the  wicket,"  said  the  chaplain 
from  within. 

*'  It's  only  me,"  whimpered  Villon. 

"  Oh,  it's  only  you,  is  it.?  "  returned  the  chaplain;  and  he 
cursed  him  with  foul  unpriestly  oaths  for  disturbing  him 
at  such  an  hour,  and  bade  him  be  off  to  hell,  where  he  came 
from. 

"  My  hands  are  blue  to  the  wrist,"  pleaded  Villon ;  "  my 
feet  are  dead  and  full  of  twinges ;  my  nose  aches  with  the 
sharp  air;  the  cold  lies  at  my  heart.  I  may  be  dead  before 
morning.  Only  this  once,  father,  and  before  God,  I  will 
never  ask  again !  " 

"  You  should  have  come  earlier,"  said  the  ecclesiastic 
coolly.  "  Young  men  require  a  lesson  now  and  then."  He 
shut  the  wicket  and  retired  deliberately  into  the  interior 
of  the  house. 

Villon  was  beside  himself;  he  beat  upon  the  door  with  his 
hands  and  feet,  and  shouted  hoarsely  after  the  chaplain. 

"  Wormy  old  fox !  "  he  cried.  "  If  I  had  my  hand  under 
your  twist,  I  would  send  you  flying  headlong  into  the  bot- 
tomless pit," 

A  door  shut  in  the  interior,  faintly  audible  to  the  poet 
down  long  passages.     He  passed  his  hand  over  his  mouth 

238 


J 


A  LODGING  FOR   THE   NIGHT 

mth  an  oath.  And  then  the  humor  of  the  situation  struck 
him,  and  he  laughed  and  looked  lightly  up  to  heaven,  where 
the  stars  seemed  to  be  winking  over  his  discomfiture. 

What  was  to  be  done?  It  looked  very  like  a  night  in  the 
frosty  streets.  The  idea  of  the  dead  woman  popped  inrto 
his  imagination,  and  gave  him  a  hearty  fright ;  what  had 
happened  to  her  in  the  early  night  might  very  well  happen 
to  him  before  morning.  And  he  so  young!  and  with  such 
immense  possibilities  of  disorderly  amusement  before  him! 
He  felt  quite  pathetic  over  the  notion  of  his  own  fate,  as  if 
it  had  been  some  one  else's,  and  made  a  little  imaginative 
vignette  of  the  scene  in  the  morning  when  they  should  find 
his  body. 

He  passed  all  his  chances  under  review,  turning  the  white 
between  his  thumb  and  forefinger.  Unfortunately  he  was 
on  bad  terms  with  some  old  friends  who  would  once  have 
taken  pity  on  him  in  such  a  plight.  He  had  lampooned  them 
in  verses ;  he  had  beaten  and  cheated  them ;  and  yet  now, 
when  he  was  in  so  close  a  pinch,  he  thought  there  was  at  least 
one  who  might  perhaps  relent.  It  was  a  chance.  It  was 
worth  trying  at  least,  and  he  would  go  and  see. 

On  the  way,  two  little  accidents  happened  to  him  which 
colored  his  musings  in  a  very  diff^erent  manner.  For,  first, 
he  fell  in  with  the  track  of  a  patrol,  and  walked  in  it  for 
some  hundred  yards,  although  it  lay  out  of  his  direction. 
And  this  spirited  him  up ;  at  least  he  had  confused  his  trail ; 
for  he  was  still  possessed  with  the  idea  of  people  tracking 
him  all  about  Paris  over  the  snow,  and  collaring  him  next 
morning  before  he  was  awake.  The  other  matter  affected 
him  quite  differently.  He  passed  a  street  comer,  where,  not 
so  long  before,  a  woman  and  her  child  had  been  devoured  by 
wolves.  This  was  just  the  kind  of  weather,  he  reflected, 
when  wolves  might  take  it  Into  their  heads  to  enter  Paris 
again;  and  a  lone  man  in  these  deserted  streets  would  run 
the  chance  of  something  worse  than  a  mere  scare.  Pie 
stopped  and  looked  upon  the  place  with  an  unpleasant  in- 
terest— it  was  a  centre  where  several  lanes  intersected  each 
other;  and  he  looked  down  them  all,  one  after  another,  and 

239 


NEW  ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

held  his  breath  to  listen,  lest  he  should  detect  some  galloping 
black  things  on  the  snow  or  hear  the  sound  of  howling  be- 
tween him  and  the  river.  He  remembered  his  mother  telling 
him  the  story  and  pointing  out  the  spot,  while  he  was  yet 
a  child.  His  mother!  If  he  only  knew  where  she  lived,  he 
might  make  sure  at  least  of  shelter.  He  determined  he 
would  inquire  upon  the  morrow;  nay,  he  would  go  and  see 
her  too,  poor  old  girl !  So  thinking,  he  arrived  at  his  destina- 
tion— his  last  hope  for  the  night. 

The  house  was  quite  dark,  like  its  neighbors;  and  yet 
after  a  few  taps,  he  heard  a  movement  overhead,  a  door 
opening",  and  a  cautious  voice  asking  who  was  there.  The 
poet  named  himself  in  a  loud  whisper,  and  waited,  not  with- 
out some  trepidation,  the  result.  Nor  had  he  to  wait  long. 
!A  window  was  suddenly  opened,  and  a  pailful  of  slops 
splashed  down  upon  the  doorstep.  Villon  had  not  been  un- 
prepared for  something  of  the  sort,  and  had  put  himself 
as  much  in  shelter  as  the  nature  of  the  porch  admitted;  but 
for  all  that,  he  was  deplorably  drenched  below  the  waist. 
His  hose  began  to  freeze  almost  at  once.  Death  from  cold 
and  exposure  stared  him  in  the  face;  he  remembered  he  was 
of  phthisical  tendency,  and  began  coughing  tentatively.  But 
the  gravity  of  the  danger  steadied  his  nerves.  He  stopped 
a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  door  where  he  had  been  so 
rudely  used,  and  reflected  with  his  finger  to  his  nose.  He 
could  only  see  one  way  of  getting  a  lodging,  and  that  was 
to  take  it.  He  had  noticed  a  house  not  far  away,  which 
looked  as  if  it  might  be  easily  broken  into,  and  thither  he 
betook  himself  promptly,  entertaining  himself  on  the  way 
with  the  idea  of  a  room  still  hot,  with  a  table  still  loaded 
with  the  remains  of  supper,  where  he  might  pass  the  rest  of 
the  black  hours  and  whence  he  should  issue,  on  the  morrow, 
with  an  armful  of  valuable  plate.  He  even  considered  on 
what  viands  and  what  wines  he  should  prefer;  and  as  he 
was  calling  the  roll  of  his  favorite  dainties,  roast  fish  pre- 
sented itself  to  his  mind  with  an  odd  mixture  of  amusement 
and  horror. 

"  I  shall  never  finish  that  ballade,"  he  thought  to  himself ; 

240 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE   NIGHT 

and  then,  with  another  shudder  at  the  recollection,  "  Ohj 
damn  his  fat  head ! "  he  repeated  fervently,  and  spat  upon 
the  snow. 

The  house  in  question  looked  dark  at  first  sight;  but  as 
Villon  made  a  preliminary  inspection  in  search  of  the  han- 
diest point  of  attack,  a  little  twinkle  of  light  caught  his  eye 
from  behind  a  curtained  window. 

"  The  devil ! "  he  thought.  "  People  awake !  Sonie  stu- 
dent or  some  saint,  confound  the  crew !  Can't  they  get  drunk 
and  lie  in  bed  snoring  like  their  neighbors !  What's  the  good 
of  curfew,  and  poor  devils  of  bell-ringers  jumping  at  a 
rope's  end  in  bell-towers?  What's  the  use  of  day,  if  people 
Bit  up  all  night?  The  gripes  to  them!  "  He  grinned  as  he 
saw  Avhere  his  logic  was  leading  him.  "  Every  man  to  his 
business,  after  all,"  added  he,  *'  and  if  they're  awake,  by  the 
Lord,  I  may  come  by  a  supper  honestly  for  once,  and  cheat 
the  devil." 

He  went  boldly  to  the  door  and  knocked  with  an  assured 
hand.  On  both  previous  occasions,  he  had  knocked  timidly 
and  with  some  dread  of  attracting  notice;  but  now  when  he 
had  just  discarded  the  thought  of  a  burglarious  entry, 
knocking  at  a  door  seemed  a  mighty  simple  and  innocent 
proceeding.  The  sound  af  his  blows  echoed  through  the 
house  with  thin,  phantasmal  reverberations,  as  though  it 
were  quite  empty ;  but  these  had  scarcely  died  away  before 
a  measured  tread  drew  near,  a  couple  of  bolts  were  with- 
drawn, and  one  wing  was  opened  broadly,  as  thougll  no  guile 
or  fear  of  guile  were  known  to  those  within,  A  tall  figure 
of  a  man,  muscular  and  spare,  but  a  little  bent,  confronted 
Villon.  The  head  was  massive  in  bulk,  but  finely  sculptured ; 
the  nose  blunt  at  the  bottom,  but  refining  upward  to  where  it 
joined  a  pair  of  strong  and  honest  eyebrows;  the  mouth  and 
eyes  surrounded  with  delicate  markings,  and  the  whole  face 
based  upon  a  thick  white  beard,  boldly  and  squarely  trimmed. 
Seen  as  it  was  by  the  light  of  a  flickering  hand-lamp,  it 
looked  perhaps  nobler  than  it  had  a  right  to  do ;  but  it  was 
a  fine  face,  honorable  rather  than  intelligent,  strong,  simple, 
and  righteous. 

241 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"You  knock  late,  sir,"  said  the  old  man  in  resonant, 
courteous  tones. 

Villon  cringed,  and  brought  up  many  servile  words  of 
apology ;  at  a  crisis  of  this  sort,  the  beggar  was  upper- 
most in  him,  and  the  man  of  genius  hid  his  head  with  con- 
fusion. 

"  You  are  cold,'*  repeated  the  old  man,  "  and  hungry  ? 
Well,  step  in."  And  he  ordered  him  into  the  house  with  a 
noble  enough  gesture. 

"  Some  great  seigneur,"  thought  Villon,  as  his  host,  set- 
ting down  the  lamp  on  the  flagged  pavement  of  the  entryi 
shot  the  bolts  once  more  into  their  places. 

"  You  will  pardon  me  if  I  go  in  front,"  he  said,  when 
this  was  done ;  and  he  preceded  the  poet  upstairs  into  a  large 
apartment,  warmed  with  a  pan  of  charcoal  and  lit  by  a  great 
lamp  hanging  from  the  roof.  It  was  very  bare  of  furniture: 
only  some  gold  plate  on  a  sideboard ;  some  folios ;  and  a 
stand  of  armor  between  the  windows.  Some  smart  tapestry 
hung  upon  the  walls,  representing  the  crucifixion  of  our 
Lord  in  one  piece,  and  in  another  a  scene  of  shepherds  and 
shepherdesses  by  a  running  stream.  Over  the  chimney  was 
a  shield  of  arms. 

"  Will  you  seat  yourself,"  said  the  old  man,  "  and  forgive 
me  if  I  leave  you.^*  I  am  alone  in  my  house  to-night,  and  if 
you  are  to  eat  I  must  forage  for  you  myself." 

No  sooner  was  his  host  gone  than  Villon  leaped  from  the 
chair  on  which  he  had  just  seated  himself,  and  began  exam- 
ining the  room,  with  the  stealth  and  passion  of  a  cat.  He 
weighed  the  gold  flagons  in  his  hand,  opened  all  the  folios, 
and  investigated  the  arms  upon  the  shield,  and  the  stuff 
with  which  the  seats  were  lined.  He  raised  the  window  cur- 
tains, and  saw  that  the  windows  were  set  with  rich  stained 
glass  in  figures,  so  far  as  he  could  see,  of  martial  import. 
Then  he  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  drew  a  long  breath, 
and  retaining  it  with  puffed  cheeks,  looked  round  and  round 
him,  turning  on  his  heels,  as  if  to  impress  every  feature  of 
the  apartment  on  his  memory. 

"  Seven  pieces  of  plate,"  he  said.     "  If  there  had  been 

242 


I 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE    NIGHT 

ten,  I  would  have  risked  it.  A  fine  house,  and  a  fine  old 
master,  so  help  me  all  the  saints ! " 

And  just  then,  hearing  the  old  man's  tread  returning 
along  the  corridor,  he  stole  back  to  his  chair,  and  began 
humbly  toasting  his  wet  legs  before  the  charcoal  pan. 

His  entertainer  had  a  plate  of  meat  in  one  hand  and  a 
jug  of  wine  in  the  other.  He  sat  down  the  plate  upon  the 
table,  motioning  Villon  to  draw  in  his  chair,  and  going  to 
the  sideboard,  brought  back  two  goblets,  which  he  filled. 

"  I  drink  your  better  fortune,"  he  said,  gravely  touching 
Villon's  cup  with  his  own. 

"  To  our  better  acquaintance,"  said  the  poet,  growing 
bold.  A  mere  man  of  the  people  would  have  been  awed  by 
the  courtesy  of  the  old  seigneur,  but  Villon  was  hardened  in 
that  matter;  he  had  made  mirth  for  great  lords  before  now, 
and  found  them  as  black  rascals  as  himself.  And  so  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  viands  with  a  ravenous  gusto,  while 
the  old  man,  leaning  backward,  watched  him  with  steady, 
curious  eyes. 

*'  You  have  blood  on  your  shoulder,  my  man,"  he  said. 

Montigny  must  have  laid  his  wet  right  hand  upon  him  as 
he  left  the  house.     He  cursed  Montigny  in  his  heart. 

"  It  was  none  of  my  shedding,"  he  stammered. 

"  I  had  not  supposed  so,"  returned  his  host  quietly.  "  A 
brawl?" 

"  Well,  something  of  that  sort,"  Villon  admitted  with  a 
quaver. 

"  Perhaps  a  fellow  murdered  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  not  murdered,"  said  the  poet,  more  and  more 
confused.  "  It  was  all  fair  play — murdered  by  accident.  I 
had  no  hand  in  it,  God  strike  me  dead !  "  he  added  fer- 
vently. 

"  One  rogue  the  fewer,  I  dare  say,"  observed  the  master 
of  the  house. 

"  You  may  dare  to  say  that,"  agreed  Villon,  Infinitely  re- 
lieved. "  As  big  a  rogue  as  there  is  between  here  and 
Jerusalem.  He  turned  up  his  toes  like  a  lamb.  But  it  was 
a  nasty  thing  to  look  at.     I  dare  say  you've  seen  dead 

243 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

men  in  your  time,  my  lord?  "  he  added,  glancing  at  the 
armor. 

"  Many,"  said  the  old  man.  "  I  have  followed  the  wars, 
as  you  imagine. "^ 

Villon  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork,  which  he  had  just 
taken  up  again. 

"  Were  any  of  them  bald  ?  "  he  asked. 

**  Oh  yes,  and  with  hair  as  white  as  mine." 

"  I  don't  think  I  should  mind  the  white  so  much,"  said 
Villon.  "  His  was  red."  And  he  had  a  return  of  his  shud- 
dering and  tendency  to  laughter,  which  he  drowned  with  a 
great  draught  of  wine.  "  I'm  a  little  put  out  when  I 
think  of  it,"  he  went  on.  "  I  knew  him — damn  him !  And 
then  the  cold  gives  a  man  fancies — or  the  fancies  give  a  man 
cold,  I  don't  know  which." 

"  Have  you  any  money  ?  "  asked  the  old  man. 

*'  I  have  one  white,"  returned  the  poet,  laughing.  *'  I 
got  it  out  of  a  dead  jade's  stocking  in  a  porch.  She  was  as 
dead  as  Caesar,  poor  wench,  and  as  cold  as  a  church,  with 
bits  of  ribbon  sticking  in  her  hair.  This  is  a  hard  world  in 
winter  for  wolves  and  wenches  and  poor  rogues  like  me." 

"  I,"  said  the  old  man,  "  am  Enguerrand  de  la  Feuillee, 
seigneur  de  Brisetout,  bailly  du  Patatrac.  VV^ho  and  what 
may  you  he?  " 

Villon  rose  and  made  a  suitable  reverence.  "  I  am  called 
Francis  Villon,"  he  said,  "  a  poor  Master  of  Arts  of  this  uni- 
versity. I  know  some  Latin,  and  a  deal  of  vice.  I  can  make 
chansons,  ballades,  lais,  virelais,  and  roundels,  and  I  am 
very  fond  of  wine.  I  was  born  in  a  garret,  and  I  shall  not 
improbably  die  upon  the  gallows.  I  may  add,  my  lord,  that 
from  this  night  forward  I  am  your  lordship's  very  obse- 
quious servant  to  command." 

"  No  servant  of  mine,"  said  the  knight,  "  my  guest  for 
this  evening,  and  no  more," 

"  A  very  grateful  guest,"  said  Villon  politely,  and  he 
drank  in  dumb  show  to  his  entertainer. 

"  You  are  shrewd,"  began  the  old  man,  tapping  his  f  ore- 
^ad,  "  very  shrewd ;  you  have  learning ;  you  are  a  clerk ; 


A    LODGING   FOR   THE    NIGHT 

and  yet  you  take  a  small  piece  of  money  off  a  dead  woman  in 
the  street.     Is  it  not  a  kind  of  theft?  " 

"  It  is  a  kind  of  theft  much  practised  in  the  wars,  my 
lord." 

"  The  wars  are  the  field  of  honor,"  returned  the  old  man 
proudly.  "  There  a  man  plays  his  life  upon  the  cast ;  he 
fights  in  the  name  of  his  lord  the  king,  his  Lord  God,  and  all 
their  lordships  the  holy  saints  and  angels." 

"  Put  it,"  said  Villon,  "  that  were  I  really  a  thief,  should 
I  not  play  my  life  also,  and  against  heavier  odds.-*  " 

"  For  gain  but  not  for  honor." 

"  Gain  ?  "  repeated  Villon  with  a  shrug.  "  Gain !  The 
poor  fellow  wants  supper,  and  takes  it.  So  does  the  soldier 
in  a  campaign.  VV^hy,  what  are  all  these  requisitions  we  hear 
so  much  about  .?•  If  they  are  not  gain  to  those  who  take 
them,  they  are  loss  enough  to  the  others.  The  men-at-arms 
drink  by  a  good  fire,  while  the  burgher  bites  his  nails  to  buy 
them  wine  and  wood.  I  have  seen  a  good  many  ploughmen 
swinging  on  trees  about  the  country ;  a}^,  I  have  seen  thirty 
on  one  elm,  and  a  very  poor  figure  they  made;  and  when  I 
asked  someone  how  all  these  came  to  be  hanged,  I  was  told 
it  was  because  they  could  not  scrape  together  enough  crowns 
to  satisfy  the  men-at-arms." 

"  These  things  are  a  necessity  of  war,  which  the  low- 
bom  must  endure  with  constancy.  It  is  true  that  some  cap- 
tains drive  overhard;  there  are  spirits  in  every  rank  not 
easily  moved  by  pity;  and  indeed  many  follow  arms  who 
are  no  better  than  brigands." 

"  You  see,"  said  the  poet,  "  you  cannot  separate  the  sol- 
dier from  the  brigand ;  and  what  is  a  thief  but  an  isolated 
brigand  with  circumspect  manners.''  I  steal  a  couple  of  mut- 
ton chops,  without  so  much  as  disturbing  people's  sleep ;  the 
farmer  grumbles  a  bit,  but  sups  none  the  less  wholesomely  on 
what  remains.  You  come  up  blowing  gloriously  on  a 
tinimpet,  take  away  the  whole  sheep,  and  beat  the  farmer  piti- 
fully into  the  bargain.  I  have  no  trumpet.''  I  am  only  Tom, 
Dick,  or  Harry ;  I  am  a  rogue  and  a  dog,  and  hanging's 
too  good  for  me — with  all  my  heart;  but  just  ask  the  far- 

245 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

mer  which  of  us  he  prefers,  just  find  out  which  of  us  he  Hes 
awake  to  curse  on  cold  nights." 

"  Look  at  us  two,"  said  his  lordship,  "  I  am  old,  strong, 
and  honored.  If  I  were  turned  from  my  house  to-morrow, 
hundreds  would  be  proud  to  shelter  me.  Poor  people  would 
go  out  and  pass  the  night  In  the  streets  with  their  children, 
if  I  merely  hinted  that  I  wished  to  be  alone.  And  I  find 
you  up,  wandering  homeless,  and  picking  farthings  off  dead 
women  by  the  wayside !  I  fear  no  man  and  nothing ;  I  have 
seen  you  tremble  and  lose  countenance  at  a  word.  I  wait 
God's  summons  contentedly  in  my  own  house,  or,  if  it  please 
the  king  to  call  me  out  again,  upon  the  field  of  battle.  You 
look  for  the  gallows ;  a  rough,  swift  death,  without  hope 
or  honor.     Is  there  no  difference  between  these  two  ?  " 

"  As  far  as  to  the  moon,"  Villon  acquiesced.  "  But  If  I 
had  been  bom  lord  of  Brisetout,  and  you  had  been  the  poor 
scholar  Francis,  would  the  difference  have  been  any  the  less.'' 
Should  not  I  have  been  warming  my  knees  at  this  charcoal 
pan,  and  would  not  you  have  been  groping  for  farthings  in 
the  snow.?  Should  not  I  have  been  the  soldier,  and  you  the 
thief.?  " 

"  A  thief.?  "  cried  the  old  man.  "la  thief!  If  you  un- 
derstood your  words,  you  would  repent  them." 

Villon  turned  out  his  hands  with  a  gesture  of  inimitable 
impudence.  "  If  your  lordship  had  done  me  the  honor  to 
follow  my  argument ! "  he  said. 

"  I  do  you  too  much  honor  In  submitting  to  your  pres- 
ence," said  the  knight.  "  Learn  to  curb  3'our  tongue  when 
you  speak  with  old  and  honorable  men,  or  some  one  hastier 
than  I  may  reprove  you  in  a  sharper  fashion."  And  he  rose 
and  paced  the  lower  end  of  the  apartment,  struggling  with 
anger  and  antipathy.  Villon  surreptitiously  refilled  his  cup, 
and  settled  himself  more  comfortably  in  the  chair,  crossing 
his  knees  and  leaning  his  head  upon  one  hand  and  the  elbow 
against  the  back  of  the  chair.  He  was  now  replete  and 
warm ;  and  he  was  In  nowise  frightened  for  his  host,  ha\'ing 
gauged  him  as  justly  as  was  possible  between  two  such  dif- 
ferent characters.     The  night  was  far  spent,  and  In  a  very 

246 


A   LODGING   FOR   THE    NIGHT 

comfortable  fashion  after  all ;  and  he  felt  morally  certain 
of  a  safe  departure  on  the  morrow. 

"  Tell  me  one  thing,"  said  the  old  man,  pausing  in  his 
walk.     "  Are  you  really  a  thief.?  " 

"  I  claim  the  sacred  rights  of  hospitality,"  returned  the 
poet.     "  My  lord,  I  am." 

"  You  are  very  young,"  the  knight  continued. 

"  I  should  never  have  been  so  old,"  replied  Villon,  show- 
ing his  fingers,  "  if  I  had  not  helped  myself  with  these  ten 
talents.  They  have  been  my  nursing  mothers  and  my  nursing 
fathers." 

"  You  may  still  repent  and  change." 

"  I  repent  daily,"  said  the  poet.  "  There  are  few  people 
more  given  to  repentance  than  poor  Francis.  As  for  change, 
let  somebody  change  my  circumstances.  A  man  must 
continue  to  eat,  if  it  were  only  that  he  may  continue  to 
repent." 

"  The  change  must  begin  in  the  heart,"  returned  the  old 
man  solemnly. 

"  My  dear  lord,"  answered  Villon,  "  do  you  really  fancy 
that  I  steal  for  pleasure.'*  I  hate  stealing,  like  any  other 
piece  of  work  or  of  danger.  My  teeth  chatter  when  I  see 
a  gallows.  But  I  must  eat,  I  must  drink,  I  must  mix  in 
society  of  some  sort.  What  the  devil !  Man  is  not  a  solitary 
animal — Cui  Deus  foeminam  tradit.  Make  me  king's  pantler 
— make  me  abbot  of  St.  Denis ;  make  me  bailly  of  the 
Patatrac ;  and  then  I  shall  be  changed  indeed.  But  as  long 
as  you  leave  me  the  poor  scholar  Francis  Villon,  without  a 
farthing,  why,  of  course,  I  remain  the  same." 

"  The  grace  of  God  is  all-powerful." 

"  I  should  be  a  heretic  to  question  it,"  said  Francis.  "  It 
has  made  you  lord  of  Brisetout  and  bailly  of  the  Patatrac ; 
it  has  given  me  nothing  but  the  quick  wits  under  my  hat 
and  these  ten  toes  upon  my  hands.  May  I  help  myself  to 
wine.?  I  thank  you  respectfully.  By  God's  grace,  you  have 
a  very  superior  vintage." 

The  lord  of  Brisetout  walked  to  and  fro  with  his  hands 
behind  his  back.     Perhaps  he  was  not  yet  quite  settled  in 

247 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

his  mind  about  the  parallel  between  thieves  and  soldiers ; 
perhaps  Villon  had  interested  him  by  some  cross-thread  of 
sympathy ;  perhaps  his  wits  were  simply  muddled  by  so  much 
unfamiliar  reasoning ;  but  whatever  the  cause,  he  somehow 
yearned  to  convert  the  young  man  to  a  better  way  of  think- 
ing, and  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  drive  him  forth  again 
into  the  street. 

"  There  is  something  more  than  I  can  understand  in  this," 
he  said  at  length.  "  Your  mouth  is  full  of  subtleties,  and  the 
devil  has  led  you  very  far  astray ;  but  the  devil  is  only  a 
very  weak  spirit  before  God's  truth,  and  all  his  subtleties 
vanish  at  a  word  of  true  honor,  like  darkness  at  morning. 
Listen  to  me  once  more.  I  learned  long  ago  that  a  gentleman 
should  live  chivalrously  and  lovingly  to  God,  and  the  king, 
and  his  lady ;  and  though  I  have  seen  many  strange  things 
done,  I  have  still  striven  to  command  my  ways  upon  that 
rule.  It  is  not  only  written  in  all  noble  histories,  but  in 
every  man's  heart,  if  he  will  take  care  to  read.  You  speak 
of  food  and  wine,  and  I  know  very  well  that  hunger  is  a  diffi- 
cult trial  to  endure ;  but  you  do  not  speak  of  other  wants ; 
you  say  nothing  of  honor,  of  faith  to  God  and  other  men, 
of  courtesy,  of  love  without  reproach.  It  may  be  that  I  am 
not  very  wise — and  yet  I  think  I  am — ^but  you  seem  to  me 
like  one  who  has  lost  his  way  and  made  a  great  error  in  life. 
You  are  attending  to  the  little  wants,  and  you  have  totally 
forgotten  the  great  and  only  real  ones,  like  a  man  who 
should  be  doctoring  toothache  on  the  Judgment  Day.  For 
such  things  as  honor  and  love  and  faith  are  not  only  nobler 
than  food  and  drink,  but  indeed  I  think  we  desire  them  more, 
and  suffer  more  sharply  for  their  absence.  I  speak  to  you 
as  I  think  you  will  most  easily  understand  me.  Are  you 
not,  while  careful  to  fill  your  belly,  disregarding  another  ap- 
petite in  your  heart,  which  spoils  the  pleasure  of  your  life 
and  keeps  you  continually  wretched?  " 

Villon  was  sensibly  nettled  under  all  this  sermonizing. 
"  You  thi^<:  I  have  no  sense  of  honor !  "  he  cried.  "  I'm  poor 
enough,  God  knows !  It's  hard  to  see  rich  people  with  their 
gloves,  and  you  blowing  in  your  hands.     An  empty  belly  is 

2'i8 


A   LODGING   FOR    THE    NIGHT 

a  bitter  thing,  although  you  speak  so  lightly  of  it.  If  you 
had  had  as  many  as  I,  perhaps  3'ou  would  change  your  tune. 
Any  v,ay  I'm  a  thief — make  the  most  of  that — but  I'm  not 
a  devil  from  hell,  God  strike  me  dead.  I  would  have  you  to 
know  I've  an  honor  of  my  own,  as  good  as  yours,  though  I 
don't  prate  about  it  all  day  long,  as  if  it  was  a  God's 
miracle  to  have  any.  It  seems  quite  natural  to  me ;  I  keep 
it  in  its  box  till  it's  wanted.  Why  now,  look  you  here,  how 
long  have  I  been  in  this  room  with  you.''  Did  you  not  tell 
me  you  were  alone  in  the  house?  Look  at  your  gold  plate! 
You're  strong,  if  you  like,  but  you're  old  and  unarmed,  9-nd 
I  have  my  knife.  What  did  I  want  but  a  jerk  of  the  elbow 
and  here  would  have  been  you  with  the  cold  steel  in  your 
bowels,  and  there  would  have  been  me,  linking  in  the  streets, 
with  an  armful  of  golden  cups !  Did  you  suppose  I  hadn't 
wit  enough  to  see  that.?  And  I  scorned  the  action.  There 
are  your  damned  goblets,  as  safe  as  in  a  church ;  there  are 
you,  with  your  heart  ticking  as  good  as  new;  and  here  am  I, 
ready  to  go  out  again  as  poor  as  I  came  in,  with  ni}'^  one 
white  that  you  threw  in  my  teeth !  And  j^ou  think  I  have  no 
sense  of  honor — God  strike  me  dead !  " 

The  old  man  stretched  out  his  right  arm.  "  I  will  tell  you 
what  you  are,"  he  said.  "  You  are  a  rogue,  my  man,  an 
impudent  and  black-hearted  rogue  and  vagabond.  I  have 
passed  an  hour  with  you.  Oh !  believe  me,  I  feel  m^^sclf  dis- 
graced! And  you  have  eaten  and  drunk  at  my  table.  But 
now  I  am  sick  at  your  presence ;  the  day  has  come,  and  the 
night-bird  should  be  ofr  to  his  roost.  Will  you  go  before, 
or  after.?  " 

"  Which  you  please,"  returned  the  poet,  rising.  "  I  be- 
lieve you  to  be  strictly  honorable."  He  thoughtfully  emp- 
tied his  cup.  "  I  wish  I  could  add  you  were  intelligent,"  he 
went  on,  knocking  on  his  head  with  his  laiuckles.  "Age! 
age!  the  brains  stilF  and  rheumatic." 

The  old  man  preceded  him  from  a  point  of  self- 
respect  ;  Villon  followed,  wliistling,  with  his  thumbs  in  his 
girdle. 

"  God  pity  you,"  said  the  lord  of  Brisctout  at  the  door. 

249 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

**  Good-bye,  papa,"  returned  Villon  with  a  yawn.  "  Many 
thanks  for  the  cold  mutton." 

The  door  closed  behind  him.  The  dawn  was  breaking  over 
the  white  roofs.  A  chill,  uncomfortable  morning  ushered  in 
the  day.  Villon  stood  and  heartily  stretched  himself  in  the 
middle  of  the  road. 

"  A  very  dull  old  gentleman,"  he  thought.  "  I  wonder 
what  his  goblets  may  be  worth." 


250 


THE    SIRE   DE    MALETROIT'S   DOOR 


THE    SIRE   DE    MALETROIT'S   DOOR 

DENIS  DE  BEAULIEU  was  not  yet  two-and-twenty, 
but  he  counted  himself  a  grown  man,  and  a  very  ac- 
complished cavalier  into  the  bargain.  Lads  were  early 
formed  in  that  rough,  warfaring  epoch;  and  when  one  has 
been  in  a  pitched  battle  and  a  dozen  raids,  has  killed  one's 
man  in  an  honorable  fashion,  and  knows  a  thing  or  two  of 
strategy  and  mankind,  a  certain  swagger  in  the  gait  is 
surely  to  be  pardoned.  He  had  put  up  his  horse  with  due 
care,  and  supped  with  due  deliberation;  and  then,  in  a  very 
agreeable  frame  of  mind,  went  out  to  pay  a  visit  in  the  gray 
of  the  evening.  It  was  not  a  very  wise  proceeding  on  the 
young  man's  part.  He  would  have  done  better  to  remain  be- 
side the  fire  or  go  decently  to  bed.  For  the  town  was  full  of 
the  troops  of  Burgundy  and  England  under  a  mixed  com- 
mand ;  and  though  Denis  was  there  on  safe-conduct,  his 
safe-conduct  was  like  to  serve  him  little  on  a  chance  en- 
counter. 

It  was  September,  1429;  the  weather  had  fallen  sharp; 
a  flighty  piping  wind,  laden  with  showers,  beat  about  the 
township ;  and  the  dead  leaves  ran  riot  along  the  streets. 
Here  and  there  a  window  was  already  lighted  up ;  and  the 
noise  of  men-at-arms  making  merry  over  supper  within, 
came  forth  in  fits  and  was  swallowed  up  and  carried  away 
by  the  wind.  The  night  fell  swiftly;  the  flag  of  England, 
fluttering  on  the  spire-top,  grew  ever  fainter  and  fainter 
against  the  flying  clouds — a  black  speck  like  a  swallow  in  the 
tumultuous,  leaden  chaos  of  the  sky.  As  the  night  fell  the 
wind  rose,  and  began  to  hoot  under  archways  and  roar  amid 
the  tree-tops  in  the  valley  below  the  town. 

Denis  de  Beaulieu  walked  fast  and  was  soon  knocking  at 
his  friend's  door;  but  though  he  promised  himself  to  stay 

253 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

only  a  little  while  and  make  an  early  return,  his  welcome 
was  so  pleasant,  and  he  found  so  much  to  delay  him,  that  it 
was  already  long  past  midnight  before  he  said  good-bye 
upon  the  threshold.  The  wind  had  fallen  again  in  the  mean- 
while; the  night  was  as  black  as  the  grave;  not  a  star,  nor 
a  glimmer  of  moonshine,  slipped  through  the  canopy  of 
cloud.  Denis  was  ill-acquainted  with  the  intricate  lanes  of 
Chateau  Landon ;  even  by  daylight  he  had  found  some  trouble 
in  picking  his  way ;  and  in  this  absolute  darkness  he  soon  lost 
it  altogether.  He  was  certain  of  one  thing  only — to  keep 
mounting  the  hill;  for  his  friend's  house  lay  at  the  lower 
end,  or  tail,  of  Chateau  Landon,  while  the  inn  was  up  at  the 
head,  under  the  great  church  spire.  With  this  clue  to  go 
upon  he  stumbled  and  groped  forward,  now  breathing  more 
freely  in  open  places  where  there  was  a  good  slice  of  sky 
overhead,  now  feeling  along  the  wall  in  stifling  closes.  It  is 
an  eerie  and  mysterious  position  to  be  thus  submerged  in 
opaque  blackness  in  an  almost  unknown  town.  The  silence 
is  terrifying  in  its  possibilities.  The  touch  of  cold  window 
bars  to  the  exploring  hand  startles  the  man  like  the  touch  of 
a  toad ;  the  inequalities  of  the  pavement  shake  his  heart  into 
his  mouth;  a  piece  of  denser  darkness  threatens  an  ambus- 
cade or  a  chasm  in  the  pathway;  and  where  the  air  is 
brighter,  the  houses  put  on  strange  and  bewildering  appear- 
ances, as  if  to  lead  him  farther  from  his  way.  For  Denis, 
who  had  to  regain  his  inn  without  attracting  notice,  there 
was  real  danger  as  well  as  mere  discomfort  in  the  walk;  and 
he  went  warily  and  boldly  at  once,  and  at  every  corner 
paused  to  make  an  observation. 

He  had  been  for  some  time  threading  a  lane  so  narrow 
that  he  could  touch  a  wall  with  either  hand  when  it  began 
to  open  out  and  go  sharply  downward.  Plainly  this  lay  no 
longer  in  the  direction  of  his  inn ;  but  the  hope  of  a  little 
more  light  tempted  him  forward  to  reconnoitre.  The  lane 
ended  in  a  terrace  with  a  bartizan  wall,  which  gave  an  out- 
look between  high  houses,  as  out  of  an  embrasure,  into  the 
valley  lying  dark  and  formless  several  hundred  feet  below. 
Denis  looked  down,  and  could  discern  a  few  tree-tops  waving 

254* 


I 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

and  a  single  speck  of  brightness  where  the  river  ran  across 
a  weir.  The  weather  was  clearing  up,  and  the  sky  had 
lightened,  so  as  to  show  the  outline  of  the  heavier  clouds  and 
the  dark  margin  of  the  hills.  By  the  uncertain  glimmer, 
the  house  on  his  left  hand  should  be  a  place  of  some  preten- 
sions ;  it  was  surmounted  by  several  pinnacles  and  turret- 
tops  ;  the  round  stern  of  a  chapel,  with  a  fringe  of  flying 
buttresses,  projected  boldly  from  the  main  block;  and  the 
door  was  sheltered  under  a  deep  porch  carved  with  figures 
and  overhung  by  two  long  gargoyles.  The  windows  of  the 
chapel  gleamed  through  their  intricate  tracery  with  a  light 
as  of  many  tapers,  and  threw  out  the  buttresses  and  the 
peaked  roof  in  a  more  intense  blackness  against  the  sky. 
It  was  plainly  the  hotel  of  some  great  family  of  the  neigh- 
borhood ;  and  as  it  reminded  Denis  of  a  town  house  of  his 
own  at  Bourges,  he  stood  for  some  time  gazing  up  at  it  and 
mentally  gauging  the  skill  of  the  architects  and  the  con- 
sideration of  the  two  families. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  issue  to  the  terrace  but  the  lane 
by  which  he  had  reached  it ;  he  could  only  retrace  his  steps, 
but  he  gained  some  notion  of  his  whereabouts,  and  hoped 
by  this  means  to  hit  the  main  thoroughfare  and  speedily  re- 
gain the  inn.  He  was  reckoning  without  that  chapter  of 
accidents  which  was  to  make  this  night  memorable  above 
all  others  in  his  career;  for  he  had  not  gone  back  above  a 
hundred  yards  before  he  saw  a  light  coming  to  meet  him, 
and  heard  loud  voices  speaking  together  in  the  echoing  nar- 
rows of  the  lane.  It  was  a  party  of  men-at-arms  going  the 
night  round  with  torches.  Denis  assured  himself  that  they 
had  all  been  making  free  with  the  wine-bowl,  and  were  in  no 
mood  to  be  particular  about  safe-conducts  or  the  niceties 
of  chivalrous  war.  It  was  as  like  as  not  that  they  would 
kill  him  like  a  dog  and  leave  him  where  he  fell.  The  situa- 
tion was  inspiriting  but  nervous.  Their  own  torches  would 
conceal  him  from  sight,  he  reflected ;  and  he  hoped  that  they 
would  drown  the  noise  of  his  footsteps  with  their  own  empty 
voices.  If  he  were  but  fleet  and  silent,  he  might  evade  their 
notice  altogether. 

255 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

Unfortunate!}^,  as  he  turaed  to  beat  a  retreat,  his  foot 
rolled  npon  a  pebble;  he  fell  against  the  wall  with  an  ejacu- 
lation, and  his  sword  rang  loudly  on  the  stones.  Two  or 
three  voices  demanded  who  went  there — some  in  French,  some 
in  English;  but  Denis  made  no  reply,  and  ran  the  faster 
down  the  lane.  Once  upon  the  terrace,  he  paused  to  look 
back.  They  still  kept  calling  after  him,  and  just  then  began 
to  double  the  pace  in  pursuit,  with  a  considerable  clank  of 
armor,  and  great  tossing  of  the  torchlight  to  and  fro  in  the 
narrow  jaws  of  the  passage. 

Denis  cast  a  look  around  and  darted  into  the  porch. 
There  he  might  escape  observation,  or — if  that  were  too 
much  to  expect — was  in  a  capital  posture  whether  for  parley 
or  defence.  So  thinking,  he  drew  his  sword  and  tried  to  set 
his  back  against  the  door.  To  his  surprise,  it  yielded  behind 
his  weight ;  and  though  he  turned  in  a  moment,  continued  to 
swing  back  on  oiled  and  noiseless  hinges,  until  it  stood  wide 
open  on  a  black  interior.  When  things  fall  out  opportunely 
for  the  person  concerned,  he  is  not  apt  to  be  critical  about 
the  how  or  why,  his  own  immediate  personal  convenience 
seeming  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  strangest  oddities  and 
revolutions  in  our  sublunary  things ;  and  so  Denis,  without 
a  moment's  hesitation,  stepped  within  and  partly  closed  the 
door  behind  him  to  conceal  his  place  of  refuge.  Nothing 
was  further  from  his  thoughts  than  to  close  it  altogether; 
but  for  some  inexplicable  reason — perhaps  by  a  spring  or 
a  weight — the  ponderous  mass  of  oak  whipped  itself  out  of 
his  fingers  and  clanked  to,  with  a  formidable  rumble  and 
a  noise  like  the  falling  of  an  automatic  bar. 

The  round,  at  that  very  moment,  debouched  upon  the  ter- 
race and  proceeded  to  summon  him  with  shouts  and  curses. 
He  heard  them  ferreting  in  the  dark  corners ;  the  stock  of 
a  lance  even  rattled  along  the  outer  surface  of  the  door 
behind  which  he  stood ;  but  these  gentlemen  were  in  too  high 
a  humor  to  be  long  delayed,  and  soon  made  oif  down  a  cork- 
screw pathway  which  had  escaped  Denis's  observation,  and 
passed  out  of  sight  and  hearing  along  the  battlements  of 
the  town. 

256 


A 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

Denis  breathed  again.  He  gave  them  a  few  minutes'  grace 
for  fear  of  accidents,  and  then  groped  about  for  some  means 
of  opening  the  door  and  slipping  forth  again.  The  inner 
surface  was  quite  smooth,  not  a  handle,  not  a  moulding,  not 
a  projection  of  any  sort.  He  got  his  finger-nails  round  the 
edges  and  pulled,  but  the  mass  was  immovable.  He  shook  it, 
it  was  as  firm  as  a  rock.  Denis  de  Beaulieu  frowned  and 
gave  vent  to  a  little  noiseless  whistle.  What  ailed  the  door.f* 
he  wondered.  Why  was  it  open?  How  came  it  to  shut  so 
easily  and  so  effectually  after  him.''  There  was  something 
obscure  and  underhand  about  all  this,  that  was  little  to  the 
young  man's  fancy.  It  looked  like  a  snare,  and  yet  who 
could  suppose  a  snare  in'  such  a  quiet  by-street,  and  in  a 
house  of  so  prosperous  and  even  noble  an  exterior.''  And  yet 
— snare  or  no  snare,  intentionally  or  unintentionally — here 
he  was,  prettily  trapped;  and  for  the  life  of  hira  he  could 
see  no  way  out  of  it  again.  The  darkness  began  to  weigh 
upon  him.  He  gave  ear;  all  was  silent  without,  but  within 
and  close  by  he  seemed  to  catch  a  faint  sighing,  a  faint  sob- 
bing rustle,  a  little  stealthy  creak — as  though  many  persons 
were  at  his  side,  holding  themselves  quite  still,  and  govern- 
ing even  their  respiration  with  the  extreme  of  slyness.  The 
idea  went  to  his  vitals  with  a  shock,  and  he  faced  about  sud- 
denly as  if  to  defend  his  life.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  he 
became  aware  of  a  light  about  the  level  of  his  eyes  and  at 
some  distance  in  the  interior  of  the  house — a  vertical  thread 
.of  light,  widening  towards  the  bottom,  such  as  might  escape 
between  two  wings  of  arras  over  a  doorway.  To  see  any- 
thing was  a  relief  to  Denis  ;  it  was  like  a  piece  of  solid  ground 
to  a  man  laboinng  in  a  morass ;  his  mind  seized  upon  it  with 
avidity;  and  he  stood  staring  at  it  and  trying  to  piece 
together  some  logical  conception  of  his  surroundings. 
Plainly  there  was  a  flight  of  steps  ascending  from  his  own 
level  to  that  of  this  illuminated  doorway ;  and  indeed  he 
thought  he  could  make  out  another  thread  of  light,  as  fine 
as  a  needle,  and  as  faint  as  phosphorescence,  which  might 
very  well  be  reflected  along  the  polished  wood  of  a  hand- 
rail.    Since  he  had  begun  to  suspect  that  he  was  not  alone, 

257 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

his  heart  had  continued  to  beat  with  smothering  violence, 
and  an  intolerable  desire  for  action  of  any  sort  had  pos- 
sessed itself  of  his  spirit.  He  was  in  deadly  peril,  he  believed. 
What  could  be  more  natural  than  to  mount  the  staircase, 
lift  the  curtain,  and  confront  his  difficulty  at  once?  At 
least  he  would  be  dealing  with  something  tangible;  at  least 
he  would  be  no  longer  in  the  dark.  He  stepped  slowly  for- 
ward with  outstretched  hands,  until  his  foot  struck  the  bot- 
tom step;  then  he  rapidly  scaled  the  stairs,  stood  for  a 
moment  to  compose  his  expression,  lifted  the  arras  and 
went  in. 

He  found  himself  in  a  large  apartment  of  polished  stone. 
There  were  three  doors ;  one  on  each  of  three  sides ;  all 
similarly  curtained  with  tapestryo  The  fourth  side  was 
occupied  by  two  large  windows  and  a  great  stone  chimney- 
piece,  carved  with  the  arms  of  the  Maletroits.  Denis  recog- 
nized the  bearings,  and  was  gratified  to  find  himself  in  such 
good  hands.  The  room  was  strongly  illuminated;  but  it 
contained  little  furniture  except  a  heavy  table  and  a  chair 
or  two,  the  hearth  was  innocent  of  fire,  and  the  pavement 
was  but  sparsely  strewn  with  rushes  clearly  many  days  old. 

On  a  high  chair  beside  the  chimney,  and  directly  facing 
Denis  as  he  entered,  sat  a  little  old  gentleman  in  a  fur  tippet. 
He  sat  with  his  legs  crossed  and  his  hands  folded,  and  a  cup 
of  spiced  wine  stood  by  his  elbow  on  a  bracket  on  the  wall. 
His  countenance  had  a  strongly  masculine  cast ;  not  properly 
human,  but  such  as  we  see  in  the  bull,  the  goat,  or  the 
domestic  boar;  something  equivocal  and  wheedling,  some- 
thing greedys  brutal,  and  dangerous.  The  upper  lip  was 
inordinately  full,  as  though  swollen  by  a  blow  or  a  tooth- 
ache; and  the  smile,  the  peaked  eyebrows,  and  the  small, 
strong  eyes  were  quaintly  and  almost  comically  evil  in  ex- 
pression. Beautiful  white  hair  hung  straight  all  round  his 
head,  like  a  saint's,  and  fell  in  a  single  curl  upon  the  tippet. 
His  beard  and  moustache  were  the  pink  of  venerable  sweet- 
ness. Age,  probably  in  consequence  of  inordinate  precau- 
tions, had  left  no  mark  upon  his  hands ;  and  the  Maletroit 
band  was  famous.     It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  anything 

259 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

at  once  so  fleshy  and  so  delicate  In  design ;  the  taper,  sensual 
fingers,  were  like  those  of  one  of  Leonardo's  women ;  the 
fork  of  the  thumb  made  a  dimpled  protuberance  when 
closed;  the  nails  were  perfectly  shaped,  and  of  a  dead,  sur- 
prising whiteness.  It  rendered  his  aspect  tenfold  more  re- 
doubtable, that  a  man  with  hands  like  these  should  keep  them 
devoutly  folded  like  a  virgin  martyr — that  a  man  with  so 
intent  and  startling  an  expression  of  face  should  sit  pa- 
tiently on  his  seat  and  contemplate  people  with  an  unwink- 
ing stare,  like  a  god>  or  a  god's  statue.  His  quiescence 
seemed  ironical  and  treacherous,  it  fitted  so  poorly  with  his 
looks. 

Such  was  Alain,  Sire  de  Maletrolt. 

Denis  and  he  looked  silently  at  each  other  for  a  second  or 
two. 

"  Pray  step  In,"  said  the  Sire  de  Maletrolt.  "  I  have 
been  expecting  you  all  the  evening." 

He  had  not  risen  but  he  accompanied  his  words  with  a 
smile  and  a  slight  but  courteous  inclination  of  the  head. 
Partly  from  the  smile,  partly  from  the  strange  musical  mur- 
mur with  which  the  Sire  prefaced  his  observation,  Denis  felt 
a  strong  shudder  of  disgust  go  through  his  marrow.  And 
what  with  disgust  and  honest  confusion  of  mind,  he  could 
scarcely  get  words  together  in  reply. 

"  I  fear,"  he  said,  "  that  this  is  a  double  accident.  I  am 
not  the  person  you  suppose  me.  It  seems  you  were  looking 
for  a  visit ;  but  for  my  part,  nothing  was  further  from  my 
thoughts — nothing  could  be  more  contrary  to  my  wishes — 
than  this  intrusion." 

"  Well,  well,"  replied  the  old  gentleman  indulgently,  "  here 
you  are.  which  is  the  main  point.  Seat  yourself,  my  friend, 
and  put  yourself  entirely  at  your  ease.  We  shall  arrange 
our  little  affairs  presently." 

Denis  perceived  that  the  matter  was  still  complicated  with 
some  misconception,  and  he  hastened  to  continue  his 
explanations. 

"  Your  door  .     .     .     ."  he  began. 

"  About  my  door?  "  asked  the  other  raising  liis  peaked 

259 


NEW  ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

eyebrows.  "  A  little  piece  of  ingenuity."  And  he  shrugged 
his  shoulders.  "  A  hospitable  fancy !  By  your  own  account, 
you  were  not  desirous  of  mating  my  acquaintance.  We  old 
people  look  for  such  reluctance  now  and  then;  when  it 
touches  our  honor,  we  cast  about  until  we  find  some  way  of 
overcoming  it.  You  arrive  uninvited,  but  believe  me,  very 
welcome." 

"  You  persist  in  error,  sir,"  said  Denis.  "  There  can  be 
no  question  between  you  and  me.  I  am  a  stranger  in  this 
countryside.  My  name  is  Denis,  damoiseau  de  Beauliea.  If 
you  see  me  In  your  house,  it  is  only " 

"  My  young  friend,"  interrupted  the  other,  "  you  will 
permit  me  to  have  my  own  ideas  on  that  subject.  They 
probably  differ  from  yours  at  the  present  moment,"  he 
added  with  a  leer,  "  but  time  will  show  which  of  us  is  in 
the  right." 

Denis  was  convinced  he  had  to  do  with  a  lunatic.  He 
seated  himself  with  a  shrugj  content  to  wait  the  upshot ;  and 
a  pause  ensued,  during  which  he  thought  he  could  distin- 
guish a  hurried  gabbling  as  of  prayer  from  behind  the  arras 
immediately  opposite  him.  Sometimes  there  seemed  to  be 
but  one  person  engaged,  sometimes  two;  and  the  vehemence 
of  the  voice,  low  as  it  was,  seemed  to  indicate  either  great 
haste  or  an  agony  of  spirit.  It  occurred  to  him  that  this 
piece  of  tapestry  covered  the  entrance  to  the  chapel  he  had 
noticed  from  without. 

The  old  gentleman  meanwhile  surveyed  Denis  from  head 
to  foot  with  a  smile,  and  from  time  to  time  emitted  little 
noises  like  a  bird  or  a  mouse,  which  seemed  to  indicate  a  high 
degree  of  satisfaction.  This  state  of  matters  became  rap- 
idly insupportable ;  and  Denis,  to  put  an  end  to  it,  remarked 
politely  that  the  wind  had  gone  down. 

The  old  gentleman  fell  into  a  fit  of  silent  laughter,  so  pro- 
longed and  violent  that  he  became  quite  red  in  the  face. 
Denis  got  upon  his  feet  at  once,  and  put  on  his  hat  with  a 
flourish. 

"  Sir,"  he  said,  "  If  you  are  in  your  wits,  you  have  af- 
fronted me  grossly.    If  you  are  out  of  them,  I  flatter  myself 

260, 


THE    SIRE   DE   MALETROIT'S   DOOR 

I  can  find  better  employment  for  my  brains  than  to  talk  with 
lunatics.  My  conscience  is  clear;  you  have  made  a  fool  of 
me  from  the  first  moment;  you  have  refused  to  hear  my 
explanations ;  and  now  there  is  no  power  under  God  will  make 
me  stay  here  any  longer;  and  if  I  cannot  make  my  way  out 
in  a  more  decent  fashion,  I  will  hack  your  door  in  pieces  with 
my  sword." 

The  Sire  de  Maletroit  raised  his  right  hand  and  wagged 
it  at  Denis  with  the  fore  and  little  fingers  extended. 

"  My  dear  nephew,"  he  said,  "  sit  down." 

"  Nephew ! "  retorted  Denis,  "  you  He  in  your  throat ;" 
and  he  snapped  his  fingers  in  his  face. 

"  Sit  down,  you  rogue  1 "  cried  the  old  gentleman,  in  a 
sudden,  harsh  voice,  like  the  barking  of  a  dog.  "  Do  you 
fancy,"  he  went  on,  "  that  when  I  had  made  my  little  con- 
trivance for  the  door  I  had  stopped  short  with  that?  If 
you  prefer  to  b6  bound  hand  and  foot  till  your  bones  ache, 
rise  and  try  to  go  away.  If  you  choose  to  remain  a  free 
young  buck,  agreeably  conversing  with  an  old  gentleman — 
why,  sit  where  you  are  in  peace,  and  God  be  with  you." 

"  Do  you  mean  I  am  a  prisoner?  "  demanded  Denis. 

"  I  state  the  facts,"  replied  the  other.  "  I  would  rather 
leave  the  conclusion  to  yourself." 

Denis  sat  down  again.  Externally  he  managed  to  keep 
pretty  calm,  but  within,  he  was  now  boiling  with  anger, 
now  chilled  with  apprehension.  He  no  longer  felt  convinced 
that  he  was  dealing  with  a  madman.  And  if  the  old  gentle- 
man was  sane,  what,  in  God's  name,  had  he  to  look  for? 
What  absurd  or  tragical  adventure  had  befallen  him?  What 
countenance  was  he  to  assume? 

While  he  was  thus  unpleasantly  reflecting,  the  arras  that 
overhung  the  chapel  door  was  raised,  and  a  tall  priest  in  his 
robes  came  forth  and,  giving  a  long,  keen  stare  at  Denis 
said  something  in  an  undertone  to  Sire  de  Maletroit. 

"  She  is  in  a  better  frame  of  spirit?  "  asked  the  latter. 

"  She  is  more  resigned,  messire,"  replied  the  priest. 

"  Now  the  Lord  help  her,  she  is  hard  to  please ! "  sneered 
the  old  gentleman.     "  A  likely  stripling — ^not  ill-bom — and 

261 


]^EW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

of  her  own  choosing,  too?  Why,  what  more  would  the  jade 
have?  " 

*'  The  situation  is  not  usual  for  a  young  damsel,"  said 
the  other,  "  and  somewhat  trying  to  her  blushes." 

"  She  should  have  thought  of  that  before  she  began  the 
dance.  It  was  none  of  my  choosing,  God  knows  that:  but 
since  she  is  in  it,  by  our  lady,  she  shall  carry  it  to  the  end." 
And  then  addressing  Denis,  "  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,"  he 
asked,  "  may  I  present  you  to  my  niece?  She  has  been  wait- 
ing your  arrival,  I  may  say,  with  even  greater  impatience 
than  myself." 

Denis  had  resigned  himself  with  a  good  grace — all  he 
desired  was  to  know  the  worst  of  it  as  speedily  as  possible; 
so  he  rose  at  once,  and  bowed  in  acquiescence.  The  Sire  de 
Maletroit  followed  his  example  and  limped,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  chaplain's  arm,  towards  the  chapel-door.  The 
priest  pulled  aside  the  arras,  and  all  three  entered.  The 
building  had  considerable  architectural  pretensions.  A  light 
groining  sprang  from  six  stout  columns,  and  hung  down  in 
two  rich  pendants  from  the  centre  of  the  vault.  The  place 
terminated  behind  the  altar  in  a  round  end,  embossed  and 
honeycombed  with  a  superfluity  of  ornament  in  relief,  and 
pierced  by  many  little  windows  shaped  like  stars,  trefoils,  or 
wheels.  These  windows  were  imperfectly  glazed,  so  that 
the  night  air  circulated  freely  in  the  chapel.  The  tapers, 
of  which  there  must  have  been  half  a  hundred  burning  on  the 
altar,  were  unmercifully  blown  about ;  and  the  light  went 
through  many  different  phases  of  brilliancy  and  semi-eclipse. 
On  the  steps  in  front  of  the  altar  knelt  a  young  girl  richly 
attired  as  a  bride.  A  chill  settled  over  Denis  as  he  observed 
her  costume;  he  fought  with  desperate  energy  against  the 
conclusion  that  was  being  thrust  upon  his  mind;  it  could 
not — it  should  not — ^be  as  he  feared. 

"  Blanche,"  said  the  Sire,  in  his  most  flute-like  tones,  "  I 
have  brought  a  friend  to  see  you,  my  little  girl ;  turn  round 
and  give  him  your  pretty  hand.  It  is  good  to  be  devout; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  be  polite,  my  niece." 

The  girl   rose  to  her   feet   and  turned  toward  the  new 

262 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

comers.  She  moved  all  of  a  piece ;  and  shame  and  exhaustion 
were  expressed  in  every  line  of  her  fresh  young  body ;  and 
she  held  her  head  down  and  kept  her  eyes  upon  the  pave- 
ment, as  she  came  slowly  forward.  In  the  course  of  her 
advance,  her  eyes  fell  upon  Denis  de  Beaulieu's  feet — feet 
of  which  he  was  justly  vain,  be  it  remarked,  and  wore  in 
the  most  elegant  accoutrement  even  while  traveling.  She 
paused — started,  as  if  his  yellow  boots  had  conveyed  some 
shocking  meaning — and  glanced  suddenly  up  into  the 
wearer's  countenance.  Their  eyes  met ;  shame  gave  place 
to  horror  and  terror  in  her  looks ;  the  blood  left  her  lips ; 
with  a  piercing  scream  she  covered  her  face  with  her  hands 
and  sank  upon  the  chapel  floor. 

"  That  is  not  the  man !  "  she  cried.  "  My  uncle,  that  is 
not  the  man !  " 

The  Sire  de  Maletroit  chirped  agreeably.  "  Of  course 
not,"  he  said,  "  I  expected  as  much.  It  was  so  unfortunate 
you  could  not  remember  his  name." 

"  Indeed,"  she  cried,  "  indeed,  I  have  never  seen  this  per- 
son till  this  moment — I  have  never  so  much  as  set  eyes  upon 
him — I  never  wish  to  see  him  again.  Sir,"  she  said,  turning 
to  Denis,  "  if  you  are  a  gentleman,  you  will  bear  me  out. 
Have  I  ever  seen  you — have  you  ever  seen  me — ^before  this 
accursed  hour?  " 

"  To  speak  for  myself,  I  have  never  had  that  pleasure," 
answered  the  young  man.  "  This  is  the  first  time,  messire, 
that  I  have  met  with  your  engaging  niece." 

The  old  gentleman  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  I  am  distressed  to  hear  it,"  he  said.  "  But  it  is  never 
too  late  to  begin.  I  had  little  more  acquaintance  with  my 
own  late  lady  ere  I  married  her ;  which  proves,"  he  added, 
with  a  grimace,  "  that  these  impromptu  marriages  may 
often  produce  an  excellent  understanding  in  the  long  run. 
As  the  bridegroom  is  to  have  a  voice  in  the  matter,  I  will 
give  him  two  hours  to  make  up  for  lost  time  before  we  pro- 
ceed with  the  ceremony."  And  he  turned  toward  the  door, 
followed  by  the  clergyman. 

The  girl  was  on  her  feet  In  a  moment.     "  ]My  uncle,  you 

\2Q2 


NEW  ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

cannot  be  in  earnest,"  she  said.  "  I  declare  before  God  I 
will  stab  myself  rather  than  be  forced  on  that  young  man-. 
The  heart  rises  at  it ;  God  forbids  such  marriages ;  you  dis- 
honor your  white  hair.  Oh,  my  uncle,  pity  me !  There  is 
not  a  woman  in  all  the  world  but  would  prefer  death  to  such 
a  nuptial.  Is  it  possible,"  she  added,  faltering — "  is  it  pos- 
sible that  you  do  not  believe  me — that  you  still  think  this  " 
• — and  she  pointed  at  Denis  with  a  tremor  of  anger  and  con- 
tempt— "  that  you  still  think  this  to  be  the  man  ?  " 

"  Frankl}^,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  pausing  on  the 
threshold,  "  I  do.  But  let  me  explain  to  you  once  for  all, 
Blanche  de  Maletroit,  my  way  of  thinking  about  this  affair. 
When  you  took  it  into  your  head  to  dishonor  my  family  and 
the  name  that  I  have  borne,  in  peace  and  war,  for  more  than 
three-score  years,  you  forfeited,  not  only  the  right  to  ques- 
tion my  designs,  but  that  of  looking  me  in  the  face.  If  your 
father  had  been  alive,  he  would  have  spat  on  you  and  turned 
you  out  of  doors.  His  was  the  hand  of  iron.  You  may 
bless  your  God  you  have  only  to  deal  with  the  hand  of  velvet, 
mademoiselle.  It  was  my  duty  to  get  you  married  without 
delay.  Out  of  pure  good-will,  I  have  tried  to  find  your  own 
gallant  for  you.  And  I  believe  I  have  succeeded.  But  be- 
fore God  and  all  the  holy  angels,  Blanche  de  Maletroit,  if 
I  have  not,  I  care  not  one  jack-straw.  So  let  me  recom- 
mend you  to  be  polite  to  our  young  friend ;  for  upon  my 
word,  your  next  groom  may  be  less  appetizing." 

And  with  that  he  went  out,  with  the  chaplain  at  his  heels ; 
and  the  arras  fell  behind  the  pair. 

The  girl  turned  upon  Denis  with  flashing  eyes. 

"  And  what,  sir,"  she  demanded,  "  may  be  the  meaning 
of  all  this.?" 

"  God  knows,"  returned  Denis,  gloomily.  "  I  am  a 
prisoner  in  this  house,  which  seems  full  of  mad  people. 
More  I  know  not ;  and  nothing  do  I  understand." 

"  And  pray  how  came  you  here,"  she  asked. 

He  told  her  as  briefly  as  he  could.  "  For  the  rest,"  he 
added,  "  perhaps  you  will  follow  my  example,  and  tell  me 

264. 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOK 

the  answer  to  all  these  riddles,  and  Avhat,  in  God's  name,  Is 
like  to  be  the  end  of  it." 

She  stood  silent  for  a  little,  and  he  could  see  her  lips 
tremble  and  her  tearless  eyes  burn  with  a  feverish  lustre. 
Then  she  pressed  her  forehead  in  both  hands. 

"  Alas,  how  my  head  aches !  "  she  said  wearily — "  to  say 
nothing  of  my  poor  heart !  But  it  is  due  to  you  to  know  my 
story,  unmaidenly  as  it  must  seem.  I  am  called  Blanche  de 
Maletroit;  I  have  been  without  father  or  mother  for — oh! 
for  as  long  as  I  can  recollect,  and  indeed  I  have  been  most 
unhappy  all  my  life.  Three  months  ago  a  young  captain 
began  to  stand  near  me  every  day  in  church.  I  could  see 
that  I  pleased  him ;  I  am  much  to  blame,  but  I  was  so  glad 
that  anyone  should  love  me ;  and  when  he  passed  me  a  letter, 
I  took  it  home  with  me  and  read  it  with  great  pleasure. 
Since  that  time  he  has  written  many.  He  was  so  anxious 
to  speak  with  me,  poor  fellow!  and  kept  asking  me  to  leave 
the  door  open  some  evening  that  we  might  have  two  words 
upon  the  stair.  For  he  knew  how  much  my  uncle  trusted 
me."  She  gave  something  like  a  sob  at  that,  and  it  was  a 
moment  before  she  could  go  on.  "  My  uncle  Is  a  hard  man, 
but  he  is  very  shrewd,"  she  said  at  last.  "  He  has  per- 
formed many  feats  in  war,  and  was  a  great  person  at  court, 
and  much  trusted  by  Queen  Isabeau  in  old  days.  How  he 
came  to  suspect  me  I  cannot  tell ;  but  it  is  hard  to  keep  any- 
thing from  his  knowledge;  and  this  morning,  as  we  came 
from  mass,  he  took  my  hand  into  his,  forced  it  open,  and 
read  my  little  billet,  walking  by  my  side  all  the  while.  When 
he  finished,  he  gave  it  back  to  me  with  great  politeness.  It 
contained  another  request  to  have  the  door  left  open ;  and 
this  has  been  the  ruin  of  us  all.  My  uncle  kept  me  strictly 
in  my  room  until  evening,  and  then  ordered  me  to  dress  my- 
self as  you  see  me — a  hard  mockery  for  a  young  girl,  do 
ycu  not  think  so?  I  suppose,  when  he  could  not  prevail  with 
me  to  tell  Iiim  the  young  captain's  name,  he  must  have  laid 
a  trap  for  him :  into  which,  alas !  you  have  fallen  in  the  anger 
of  God.  I  looked  for  much  confusion ;  for  how  could  I  tell 
whether  he  was  willing  to  take  me  for  his  wife  on  these  sharp 

265. 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

terms?  He  might  have  been  trifling  with  me  from  the  first; 
or  I  might  have  made  myself  too  cheap  in  his  eyes.  But 
truly  I  had  not  looked  for  such  a  shameful  punishment  as 
this !  I  could  not  think  that  God  would  let  a  girl  be  so  dis- 
graced before  a  young  man.  And  now  I  tell  you  all ;  and  I 
can  scarcely  hope  that  you  will  not  despise  me." 

Denis  made  her  a  respectful  inclination. 

*'  Madam,"  he  said,  *'  you  have  honored  me  by  your  con- 
fidence. It  remains  for  me  to  prove  that  I  am  not  unworthy 
of  the  honor.     Is  Messire  de  Maletroit  at  hand?  " 

*'  I  believe  he  is  writing  in  the  salle  without,"  she  answered. 

"  May  I  lead  you  thither,  madam  ?  "  asked  Denis,  offer- 
ing his  hand  with  his  most  courtly  bearing. 

She  accepted  it ;  and  the  pair  passed  out  of  the  chapel, 
Blanche  in  a  very  drooping  and  shamefaced  condition,  but 
Denis  strutting  and  ruffling  in  the  consciousness  of  a  mis- 
sion, and  the  boyish  certainty  of  accomplishing  it  with 
honor. 

The  Sire  de  Maletroit  rose  to  meet  them  with  an  ironical 
obeisance. 

"  Sir,"  said  Denis,  with  the  grandest  possible  air,  "  I  be- 
lieve I  am  to  have  some  say  in  the  matter  of  this  marriage; 
and  let  me  tell  you  at  once,  I  will  be  no  party  to  forcing  the 
inclination  of  this  young  lady.  Had  it  been  freely  offered 
to  me,  I  should  have  been  proud  to  accept  her  hand,  for  I 
perceive  she  is  as  good  as  she  is  beautiful;  but  as  things  are, 
I  have  now  the  honor,  messire,  of  refusing." 

Blanche  looked  at  him  with  gratitude  in  her  eyes ;  but  the 
old  gentleman  only  smiled  and  smiled,  until  his  smile  grew 
positively  sickening  to  Denis. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  he  said,  "  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,  that  you 
do  not  perfectly  understand  the  choice  I  have  offered  you. 
Follow  me,  I  beseech  you,  to  this  window."  And  he  led  the 
way  to  one  of  the  large  windows  which  stood  open  on  the 
night.  "  You  observe,"  he  went  on,  "  there  is  an  iron  ring 
in  the  upper  masonry,  and  reeved  through  that,  a  very 
efficacious  rope.  Now,  mark  my  words :  if  you  should  find 
your  disinclination  to  my  niece's  person  insurmountable,  I 

266 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

shall  have  you  hanged  out  of  this  window  before  sunrise.  I 
shall  only  proceed  to  such  an  extremity  with  the  greatest 
regret,  you  may  believe  me.  For  it  is  not  at  all  your  death 
that  I  desire,  but  my  niece's  establishment  in  life.  At  the 
same  time,  it  must  come  to  that  if  you  prove  obstinate. 
Your  family,  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,  is  very  well  in  its  way ; 
but  if  you  sprang  from  Charlemagne,  you  should  not  refuse 
the  hand  of  a  Maletroit  with  impunity — not  if  she  had  been 
as  common  as  the  Paris  road — not  if  she  were  as  hideous  as 
the  gargoyle  over  my  door.  Neither  my  niece  nor  you,  nor 
my  own  private  feelings,  move  me  at  all  in  this  matter.  The 
honor  of  my  house  has  been  compromised;  I  believe  you  to 
be  the  guilty  person,  at  least  you  are  now  in  the  secret ;  and 
you  can  hardly  wonder  if  I  request  you  to  wipe  out  the 
stain.  If  you  will  not,  your  blood  be  on  your  own  head !  It 
will  be  no  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  have  your  interesting 
relics  kicking  their  heels  in  the  breeze  below  my  windows, 
but  half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread,  and  if  I  cannot  cure 
the  dishonor,  I  shall  at  least  stop  the  scandal." 

There  was  a  pause. 

"  I  believe  there  are  other  ways  of  settling  such  imbroglios 
among  gentlemen,"  said  Denis.  "  You  wear  a  sword,  and  I 
hear  you  have  used  it  with  distinction." 

The  Sire  de  Maletroit  made  a  signal  to  the  chaplain,  who 
crossed  the  room  with  long  silent  strides  and  raised  the  arras 
over  the  third  of  the  three  doors.  It  was  only  a  moment 
before  he  let  it  fall  again ;  but  Denis  had  time  to  see  a  dusky 
passage  full  of  armed  men. 

"  When  I  was  a  little  younger,  I  should  have  been  de- 
lighted to  honor  you,  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,"  said  Sire 
Alain ;  "  but  I  am  now  too  old.  Faithful  retainers  are  the 
sinews  of  age,  and  I  must  employ  the  strength  I  have.  This 
is  one  of  the  hardest  things  to  swallow  as  a  man  grows  up  in 
years ;  but  with  a  little  patience,  even  this  becomes  habitual. 
You  and  the  lady  seem  to  prefer  the  salle  for  what  remains 
of  your  two  hours ;  and  as  I  have  no  desire  to  cross  your 
preference,  I  shall  resign  it  to  your  use  with  all  the  pleasure 
in  the  world.     No  haste !  "  he  added,  holding  up  his  hand, 

267 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

as  He  saw  a  dangerous  loolc  come  into  Denis  de  Beaulieu's 
face.  "  If  your-  mind  revolt  against  hanging,  it  will  be  time 
enough  two  hours  hence  to  throw  yoursodf  out  of  the  window 
or  upon  the  pikes  of  my  retainers.  Two  hours  of  life  are 
always  two  hours.  A  great  many  things  may  turn  up  in 
even  as  little  a  while  as  that.  And,  besides,  if  I  understand 
her  appearance,  my  niece  has  something  to  say  to  you.  You 
will  not  disfigure  your  last  hours  by  a  want  of  politeness  to 
a  lady?" 

Denis  looked  at  Blanche,  and  she  made  him  an  imploring 
gesture. 

It  is  likely  that  the  old  gentleman  was  hugely  pleased  at 
this  symptom  of  an  understanding;  for  he  smiled  on  both, 
and  added  sweetly :  "  If  you  will  give  me  your  word  of 
honor.  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,  to  await  my  return  at  the  end 
of  the  two  hours  before  attempting  anything  desperate,  I 
shall  withdraw  my  retainers,  and  let  you  speak  in  greater 
privacy  with  mademoiselle." 

Denis  again  glanced  at  the  girl,  who  seemed  to  beseech 
him  to  agree. 

"  I  give  you  my  word  of  honor,"  he  said. 

Messire  de  Maletroit  bowed,  and  proceeded  to  limp  about 
the  apartment,  clearing  his  throat  the  while  with  that  odd 
musical  chirp  which  had  already  grown  so  irritating  in  the 
ears  of  Denis  de  Beaulieu.  He  first  possessed  himself  of 
some  papers  which  lay  upon  the  table;  then  he  went  to  the 
mouth  of  the  passage  and  appeared  to  give  an  order  to  the 
men  behind  the  arras ;  and  lastly  he  hobbled  out  through  the 
door  by  which  Denis  had  come  in,  turning  upon  the  threshold 
to  address  a  last  smiling  bow  to  the  young  couple,  and  fol- 
lowed by  the  chaplain  with  a  hand-lamp. 

No  sooner  were  they  alone  than  Blanche  advanced  towards 
Denis  with  her  hands  extended.  Her  face  was  flushed  and 
excited,  and  her  eyes  shone  with  tears. 

**  You  shall  not  die ! "  she  cried,  "  you  shall  marry  me 
after  all." 

**  You  seem  to  think,  madam,"  replied  Denis,  "  that  I 
stand  much  in  fear  of  death." 

269 


THE    SIRE    DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

"  Oh,  no,  no,"  she  said,  "  I  see  you  are  no  poltroon.  It  is 
for  my  ovm  sake — I  could  not  bear  to  have  you  slain  for 
such  a  scruple.'* 

"  I  am  afraid,"  returned  Denis,  "  that  you  underrate  the 
difficulty,  madam.  What  you  may  be  too  generous  to  refuse, 
I  may  be  too  proud  to  accept.  In  a  moment  of  noble  feeling 
towards  me,  you  forget  what  you  perhaps  owe  to  others." 

He  had  the  decency  to  keep  his  eyes  on  the  floor  as  he 
said  this,  and  after  he  had  finished,  so  as  not  to  spy  upon 
her  confusion.  She  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  then  walked 
suddenly  away,  and  falling  on  her  uncle's  chair,  fairly  burst 
out  sobbing.  Denis  was  in  the  acme  of  embarrassment.  He 
looked  round,  as  if  to  seek  for  inspiration,  and  seeing  a 
stool,  plumped  down  upon  it  for  something  to  do.  There 
he  sat  playing  with  the  guard  of  his  rapier,  and  wishing 
himself  dead  a  thousand  times  over,  and  buried  in  the 
nastiest  kitchen-heap  in  France.  His  eyes  wandered  round 
the  apartment,  but  found  nothing  to  arrest  them.  There 
were  such  wide  spaces  between  the  furniture,  the  light  fell 
so  badly  and  cheerlessly  over  all,  the  dark  outside  air  looked 
in  so  coldly  through  the  windows,  that  he  thought  he  had 
never  seen  a  church  so  vast,  nor  a  tomb  so  melancholy.  The 
regular  sobs  of  Blanche  de  Maletroit  measured  out  the  time 
like  the  ticking  of  a  clock.  He  read  the  device  upon  the 
shield  over  and  over  again,  until  his  eyes  became  obscured; 
he  stared  into  shadowy  comers  until  he  imagined  they  were 
swarming  with  horrible  animals ;  and  every  now  and  again 
he  awoke  with  a  start,  to  remember  that  his  last  two  hours 
were  mnning,  and  death  was  on  the  march. 

Oftener  and  oftener,  as  the  time  went  on,  did  his  glance 
settle  on  the  girl  herself.  Her  face  was  bowed  forward  and 
covered  with  her  hands,  and  she  was  shaken  at  intervals  by 
the  convulsive  hiccup  of  grief.  Even  thus  she  was  not  an 
unpleasant  object  to  dwell  upon,  so  plump  and  yet  so  fine, 
with  a  warm  brown  skin,  and  the  most  beautiful  hair,  Denis 
thought,  in  the  whole  world  of  womankind.  Her  hands  were 
like  her  uncle's :  but  they  were  more  in  place  at  the  end  of 
her  young  arms,  and  looked  infinitely  soft  and  caressing. 

269 


NEW   AHABIAN    NIGHTS 

He  remembered  how  her  blue  eyes  had  shone  upon  him,  full 
of  anger,  pity,  and  innocence.  And  the  more  he  dwelt  on 
her  perfections,  the  uglier  death  looked,  and  the  more  deeply 
was  he  smitten  with  penitence  at  her  continued  tears.  Now 
he  felt  that  no  man  could  have  the  courage  to  leave  a  world 
which  contained  so  beautiful  a  creature;  and  now  he  would 
have  given  forty  minutes  of  his  last  hour  to  have  unsaid  his 
cruel  speech. 

Suddenly  a  hoarse  and  ragged  peal  of  cockcrow  rose  to 
their  ears  from  the  dark  valley  below  the  windows.  And  this 
shattering  noise  in  the  silence  of  all  around  was  like  a  light 
in  a  dark  place,  and  shook  them  both  out  of  their  reflections. 

"  Alas,  can  I  do  nothing  to  help  you .''  "  she  said,  look- 
ing up. 

"  Madam,"  replied  Denis,  with  a  fine  Irrelevancy,  "  if  I 
have  said  anything  to  wound  you,  beheve  me,  it  was  for  your 
own  sake  and  not  for  mine." 

She  thanked  him  with  a  tearful  look. 

"  I  feel  your  position  cruelly,"  he  went  on.  "  The  world 
has  been  bitter  hard  on  you.  Your  uncle  is  a  disgrace  to 
mankind.  Believe  me,  madam,  there  is  no  young  gentleman 
in  all  France  but  would  be  glad  of  my  opportunity,  to  die 
in  doing  you  a  momentary  service." 

"  I  know  already  that  you  can  be  very  brave  and  gener- 
ous," she  answered.  "  What  I  want  to  know  is  whether  I 
can  serve  you — now  or  afterwards,"  she  added,  with  a 
quaver. 

"  Most  certainly,"  he  answered  with  a  smile.  *'  Let  me 
sit  beside  you  as  if  I  were  a  friend,  instead  of  a  foolish  in- 
truder ;  try  to  forget  how  awkwardly  we  are  placed  to  one 
another ;  make  my  last  moments  go  pleasantly ;  and  you  will 
do  me  the  chief  service  possible." 

"  You  are  very  gallant,"  she  added,  with  a  yet  deeper  sad- 
ness ..."  very  gallant  .  .  .  and  it  somehow  pains 
me.  But  draw  nearer,  if  you  please;  and  if  you  find  any- 
thing to  say  to  me,  you  will  at  least  make  certain  of  a  very 
friendly  listener.  Ah!  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,"  she  broke 
forth — "  ah !    Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,  how  can  I  look  you  in 

270 


THE    SIRE   DE   MALETROIT'S   DOOR 

the  face?  "  And  she  fell  to  weeping  again  with  a  renewed 
effusion, 

"  Madam,"  said  Denis,  taking  her  hand  in  both  of  his, 
"  reflect  on  the  little  time  I  have  before  me,  and  the  great 
bitterness  into  which  I  am  cast  by  the  sight  of  your  distress. 
Spare  me,  in  my  last  moments,  the  spectacle  of  what  I  can- 
not cure  even  with  the  sacrifice  of  my  life." 

"  I  am  very  selfish,"  answered  Blanche.  "  I  will  be  braver, 
Monsieur  de  Beaulieu,  for  your  sake.  But  think  if  I  can  do 
you  no  kindness  in  the  future — if  you  have  no  friends  to 
whom  I  could  carry  your  adieux.  Charge  me  as  heavily  as 
you  can ;  every  burden  will  lighten,  by  so  little,  the  invalu- 
able gratitude  I  owe  you.  Put  it  in  my  power  to  do  some- 
thing more  for  you  than  weep." 

"  My  mother  is  married  again,  and  has  a  young  family 
to  care  for.  My  brother  Guichard  will  inherit  my  fiefs ;  and 
if  I  am  not  in  error,  that  will  content  him  amply  for  my 
death.  Life  is  a  little  vapor  that  passeth  away,  as  we  are 
told  by  those  in  holy  orders.  When  a  man  is  in  a  fair  way 
and  sees  all  life  open  in  front  of  him,  he  seems  to  himself  to 
make  a  very  important  figure  in  the  world.  His  horse  whin-= 
nies  to  him ;  the  trumpets  blow  and  the  girls  look  out  of  win- 
dow as  he  rides  into  town  before  his  company ;  he  receives 
many  assurances  of  trust  and  regard — sometimes  by  ex- 
press in  a  letter — sometimes  face  to  face,  with  persons  of 
great  consequence  falling  on  his  neck.  It  is  not  wonderful 
if  his  head  is  turned  for  a  time.  But  once  he  is  dead,  were  he 
as  brave  as  Hercules  or  as  wise  as  Solomon,  he  is  soon  for- 
gotten. It  is  not  ten  years  since  my  father  fell,  with  many 
other  knights  around  him,  in  a  very  fierce  encounter,  and  I 
do  not  think  that  any  one  of  them,  nor  so  much  as  the  name 
of  the  fight,  is  now  remembered.  No,  no,  madam,  the  nearer 
you  come  to  it,  you  see  that  death  is  a  dark  and  dusty  cor- 
ner, where  a  man  gets  into  his  tomb  and  has  the  door  shut 
after  him  till  the  judgment  day.  I  have  few  friends  just 
now,  and  once  I  am  dead  I  shall  have  none," 

"  Ah,  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu  I "  she  exclaimed,  "  you  for- 
get Blanche  de  Maletroit." 

271 


NEW   ARABIAN    NIGHTS 

"  You  have  a  sweet  nature,  madam,  and  you  are  pleased 
to  estimate  a  little  service  far  beyond  its  worth." 

"  It  is  not  that,"  she  answered.  "  You  mistake  me  if  you 
think  I  am  easily  touched  by  my  own  concerns.  I  say  so, 
because  you  are  the  noblest  man  I  have  ever  met;  because  I 
recognize  in  you  a  spirit  that  would  have  made  even  a  com- 
mon person  famous  in  the  land." 

"  And  yet  here  I  die  in  a  mousetrap — with  no  more  noise 
about  it  than  my  own  squeaking,"  answered  he. 

A  look  of  pain  crossed  her  face,  and  she  was  silent  for  a 
little  while.  Then  a  light  came  into  her  eyes,  and  with  a 
smile  she  spoke  again. 

"  I  cannot  have  my  champion  think  meanly  of  himself. 
Anyone  who  gives  his  life  for  another  will  be  met  in  Paradise 
by  all  the  heralds  and  angels  of  the  Lord  God.  And  you 
have  no  such  cause  to  hang  your  head.  For  .  .  .  Pray, 
do  you  think  me  beautiful.'^  "  she  asked,  with  a  deep  flush. 

*'  Indeed,  madam,  I  do,"  he  said. 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,"  she  answered  heartil3\  "  Do  you 
think  there  are  many  men  in  France  who  have  been  asked  in 
marriage  by  a  beautiful  maiden — with  her  own  lips — and 
who  have  refused  her  to  her  face.'*  I  know  you  men  would 
half  despise  such  a  triumph ;  but  believe  me,  Ave  women  know 
more  of  what  is  precious  in  love.  There  is  nothing  that 
should  set  a  person  higher  in  his  own  esteem ;  and  we  women 
would  prize  nothing  more  dearly." 

"  You  are  very  good,"  he  said ;  "  but  you  cannot  make 
me  forget  that  I  was  asked  in  pity  and  not  for  love." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,"  she  replied,  holding  down  her 
head.  "  Hear  me  to  an  end,  Monsieur  de  Beaulieu.  I  know 
how  you  must  despise  me ;  I  feel  you  are  right  to  do  so ;  I 
am  too  poor  a  creature  to  occupy  one  thought  of  your  mind, 
although,  alas !  you  must  die  for  me  this  morning.  But 
when  I  asked  you  to  marry  me,  indeed,  and  indeed,  it  was 
because  I  respected  and  admired  you,  and  loved  you  with  my 
whole  soul,  from  the  very  moment  that  you  took  my  part 
against  my  uncle.  If  you  had  seen  yourself,  and  how  noble 
you  looked,  you  would  pity  rather  than  despise  me.     And 

272 


I 


THE    SIRE   DE    MALETROIT'S    DOOR 

now,"  she  went  on,  hurriedly  chocking  hhn  with  her  hand, 
*'  although  I  have  laid  aside  all  reserve  and  told  you  so  much, 
remember  that  I  know  your  sentiments  towards  me  already. 
I  would  not,  believe  me,  being  nobly  born,  weary  you  with 
importunities  into  consent.  I  too  have  a  pride  of  my  own ; 
and  I  declare  before  the  holy  mother  of  God,  if  you  should 
now  go  back  from  your  word  already  given,  I  would  no  more 
marry  j'ou  than  I  would  marry  my  uncle's  groom." 

Denis  smiled  a  little  bitterly. 

"  It  is  a  small  love,"  he  said,  "  that  shies  at  a  little  pride." 

She  mads  no  answer,  although  she  probably  had  her  own 
thoughts. 

"  Come  hither  to  the  window,"  he  said  with  a  sigh. 
**  Here  is  the  dawn." 

And  indeed  the  dawn  was  already  beginning.  The  hollow 
of  the  sky  was  full  of  essential  daylight,  colorless  and  clean ; 
and  the  valley  underneath  was  flooded  with  a  gray  reflection. 
A  few  thin  vapors  clung  in  the  coves  of  the  forest  or  lay 
along  the  winding  course  of  the  river.  The  scene  disengaged 
a  surprising  effect  of  stillness,  which  was  hardly  interrupted 
when  the  cocks  began  once  more  to  crow  am.ong  the  stead- 
ings. Perhaps  the  same  fellow  who  had  made  so  horrid  a 
clangor  in  the  darkness  not  half  an  hour  before,  now  sent  up 
the  merriest  cheer  to  greet  the  coming  day.  A  little  wind 
went  bustling  and  eddying  among  the  tree-tops  underneath 
the  windows.  And  still  the  daylight  kept  flooding  insensibly 
out  cf  the  east,  which  was  soon  to  grow  incandescent  and 
cast  up  that  red-hot  cannon-ball,  the  rising  sun. 

Denis  looked  out  over  all  this  with  a  bit  of  a  shiver.  He 
had  taken  her  hand,  and  retained  it  in  his  almost  uncon- 
sciously. 

"  Has  the  day  begun  already  ? "  she  said ;  and  then, 
illogically  enough :  "  the  night  has  been  so  long !  Alas ! 
what  shall  we  say  to  my  uncle  when  he  returns  ?  " 

"  What  you  will,"  said  Denis,  and  he  pressed  her  fingers 
in  his. 

She  was  silent. 

"  Blanche,"  he  said,  with  a  swift,  uncertain,  passionate 

273 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

utterance,  "  you  have  seen  whether  I  fear  death.  You  must 
know  well  enough  that  I  would  as  gladly  leap  out  of  that 
window  into  the  empty  air  as  to  lay  a  finger  on  you  with- 
out your  free  and  full  consent.  But  if  you  care  for  me  at 
all  do  not  let  me  lose  my  life  in  a  misapprehension ;  for  I  love 
you  better  than  the  whole  world;  and  though  I  will  die  for 
you  blithely,  it  would  be  like  all  the  joys  of  Paradise  to  live 
on  and  spend  my  life  in  your  service." 

As  he  stopped  speaking,  a  bell  began  to  ring  loudly  in 
the  interior  of  the  house ;  and  a  clatter  of  armor  in  the  cor- 
ridor showed  that  the  retainers  were  returning  to  their  post, 
and  the  two  hours  were  at  an  end. 

"  After  all  that  you  have  heard  ?  "  she  whispered,  leaning 
towards  him  with  her  lips  and  eyes. 

"  I  have  heard  nothing,"  he  replied. 

"  The  captain's  name  was  Florimond  de  Champdivers," 
she  said  in  his  ear. 

"  I  did  not  hear  it,"  he  answered,  taking  her  supple  body 
in  his  arms,  and  covered  her  wet  face  with  kisses. 

A  melodious  chirping  was  audible  behind,  followed  by  a 
beautiful  chuckle,  and  the  voice  of  Messire  de  Maletroit 
wished  his  new  nephew  a  good  morning. 


274 


PROVIDENCE   AND   THE    GUITAR 


PROVIDENCE   AND   THE    GUITAR 


CHAPTER    I 

MONSIEUR  LEON  BERTHELINI  had  a  great  care 
of  his  appearance,  and  sedulously  suited  his  deport- 
ment to  the  costume  of  the  hour.  He  affected  something 
Spanish  in  his  air,  and  something  of  the  bandit,  with  a  flavor 
of  Rembrandt  at  home.  In  person  he  was  decidedly  small 
and  inclined  to  be  stout;  his  face  was  the  picture  of  good 
humor;  his  dark  eyes,  which  were  very  expressive,  told  of  a 
kind  heart,  a  brisk,  merry  nature,  and  the  most  indefatigable 
spirits.  If  he  had  worn  the  clothes  of  the  period  you  would 
have  set  him  down  for  a  hitherto  undiscovered  hybrid  be- 
tween the  barber,  the  innkeeper,  and  the  affable  dispensing 
chemist.  But  in  the  outrageous  bravery  of  velvet  jacket 
and  flapped  hat,  with  trousers  that  were  more  accurately 
described  as  fleshings,  a  white  handkerchief  cavalierly 
knotted  at  his  neck,  a  shock  of  Olympian  curls  upon  his 
brow,  and  his  feet  shod  through  all  weathers  in  the  slenderest 
of  Moliere  shoes — you  had  but  to  look  at  him  and  you  knew 
you  were  in  the  presence  of  a  Great  Creature.  When  he 
wore  an  overcoat  he  scorned  to  pass  the  sleeves ;  a  single 
button  held  it  round  his  shoulders ;  it  was  tossed  backwards 
after  the  manner  of  a  cloak,  and  carried  with  the  gait  and 
presence  of  an  Almaviva.  I  am  of  opinion  that  M.  Ber- 
thelini  was  nearing  forty.  But  he  had  a  boy's  heart, 
gloried  in  his  finery,  and  walked  through  life  like  a  child  in 
a  perpetual  dramatic  performance.  If  he  were  not  Alma- 
viva after  all,  it  was  not  for  lack  of  making  believe.  And 
he  enjoyed  the  artist's  compensation.  If  he  were  not  really 
Almaviva,  he  was  sometimes  just  as  happy  as  though  he 
were. 

I  have  seen  him,  at  moments  when  he  has  fancied  himself 

277 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

alone  with  his  Maker,  adopt  so  gay  and  chivalrous  a  bearing, 
and  represent  his  own  part  with  so  much  warmth  and  con- 
science, that  the  illusion  became  catching,  and  I  believed  im- 
plicity  in  the  Great  Creature's  pose. 

But,  alas !  life  cannot  be  entirely  conducted  on  these  prin- 
ciples ;  man  cannot  live  by  Almavivery  alone ;  and  the  Great 
Creature,  having  failed  upon  several  theatres,  was  obliged 
to  step  down  every  evening  from  his  heights,  and  sing  from 
half-a-dozen  to  a  dozen  comic  songs,  twang  a  guitar,  keep  a 
country  audience  in  good  humor,  and  preside  finally  over  the 
mysteries  of  a  tombola. 

Madame  Berthelini,  who  was  art  and  part  with  him  in 
these  undignified  labors,  had  perhaps  a  higher  position  in 
the  scale  of  beings,  and  enjoyed  a  natural  dignity  of  her 
own.  But  her  heart  was  not  any  more  rightly  placed,  for 
that  would  have  been  impossible;  and  she  had  acquired  a 
little  air  of  melancholy,  attractive  enough  in  its  way,  but 
not  good  to  see  like  the  wholesome,  sky-scraping,  boyish 
spirits  of  her  lord. 

He,  indeed,  swam  like  a  kite  on  a  fair  wind,  high  above 
earthly  troubles.  Detonations  of  temper  were  not  unfre- 
quent  in  the  zones  he  traveled;  but  sulky  fogs  and  tearful 
depressions  were  there  alike  unknown.  A  well-delivered  blow 
upon  a  table,  or  a  noble  attitude,  imitated  from  Melingue  or 
Frederic,  relieved  his  irritation  like  a  vengeance.  Though 
the  heaven  had  fallen,  if  he  had  played  his  part  with  pro- 
priety, Berthelini  had  been  content!  And  the  man's  atmos- 
phere, if  not  his  example,  reacted  on  his  wife ;  for  the  couple 
doted  on  each  other,  and  although  you  would  have  thought 
they  walked  in  different  worlds,  yet  continued  to  walk  hand 
in  hand. 

It  chanced  one  day  that  Monsieur  and  Madame  Berthelini 
descended  with  two  boxes  and  a  guitar  in  a  fat  case  at  the 
station  of  the  little  town  of  Castel-le-Gachis,  and  the  omnibus 
carried  them  with  their  effects  to  the  Hotel  of  the  Black 
Head.  This  was  a  dismal,  conventual  building  in  a  narrow 
street,  capable  of  standing  siege  when  once  the  gates  were 
shut,  and  smelling  strangely  in  the  interior  of  straw  and 

27a 


PROVIDENCE   AND   THE    GUITAR 

chocolate  and  old  feminine  apparel.  Berthelini  paused  upon 
the  threshold  with  a  painful  premonition.  In  some  former 
state,  it  seemed  to  him,  he  had  visited  a  hostelry  that  smelt 
not  otherwise,  and  been  ill  received. 

The  landlord,  a  tragic  person  in  a  large  felt  hat,  rose 
from  a  business  table  under  the  key-rack,  and  came  forward, 
removing  his  hat  with  both  hands  as  he  did  so. 

"  Sir,  I  salute  you.  May  I  inquire  what  is  your  charge 
for  artists.''  "  inquired  Berthelini,  with  a  courtesy  at  once 
splendid  and  insinuating. 

"For  artists.''"  said  the  landlord.  His  countenance  fell 
and  the  smile  of  welcome  disappeared.  "  Oh,  artists ! "  he 
added,  brutally ;  "  four  francs  a  day."  And  he  turned  his 
back  upon  these  inconsiderable  customers. 

A  commercial  traveler  is  received,  he  also,  upon  a  reduc- 
tion— yet  is  he  welcome,  yet  can  he  command  the  fatted 
calf ;  but  an  artist,  had  he  the  manners  of  an  Almaviva,  were 
he  dressed  like  Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  is  received  like  a 
dog  and  served  like  a  timid  lady  traveling  alone. 

Accustomed  as  he  was  to  the  rubs  of  his  profession, 
Berthelini  was  unpleasantly  affected  by  the  landlord's 
manner. 

"  Elvira,"  said  he  to  his  wife,  "  mark  my  words :  Castel- 
le-Gachis  is  a  tragic  folly." 

"  Wait  till  we  see  what  we  take,"  replied  Elvira. 

"  We  shall  take  nothing,"  returned  Berthelini ;  "  we  shall 
feed  upon  insults.  I  have  an  eye,  Elvira ;  I  have  a  spirit  of 
divination ;  and  this  place  is  accursed.  The  landlord  has 
been  discourteous,  the  Commissary  will  be  brutal,  the  audi- 
ence will  be  sordid  and  uproarious,  and  you  will  take  a  cold 
upon  your  throat.  We  have  been  besotted  enough  to  come ; 
the  die  is  cast — it  will  be  a  second  Sedan." 

Sedan  was  a  town  hateful  to  the  Berthelinis,  not  only 
from  patriotism  (for  they  were  French,  and  answered  after 
the  flesh  to  the  somewhat  homely  name  of  Duval),  but  be- 
.cause  it  had  been  the  scene  of  their  most  sad  reverses.  In 
that  place  they  had  lain  three  weeks  in  pawn  for  their  hotel 
bill,  and  had  it  not  been  for  a  surprising  stroke  of  fortune 

27a 


new:   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

they  might  have  been  lying  there  in  pawn  until  this  day. 
To  mention  the  name  of  Sedan  was  for  the  Behthelinis  to 
dip  the  brush  in  earthquake  and  eclipse.  Count  Almaviva 
slouched  his  hat  with  a  gesture  expressive  of  despair,  and 
even  Elvira  felt  as  if  ill-fortune  had  been  personally  invoked. 

"  Let  us  ask  for  breakfast,"  said  she,  with  a  woman's  tact. 

The  Commissary  of  Police  of  Castel-le-Gachis  was  a  large 
red  Commissary,  pimpled,  and  subject  to  a  strong  cutaneous 
transpiration.  I  have  repeated  the  name  of  his  office  because 
he  was  so  very  much  more  a  Commissary  than  a  man.  The 
spirit  of  his  dignity  had  entered  into  him.  He  carried  his 
corporation  as  if  it  were  something  official.  Whenever  he 
insulted  a  common  citizen  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  were 
adroitly  flattering  the  Government  by  a  side  wind ;  In  default 
of  dignity  he  was  brutal  from  an  over-weening  sense  of  duty. 
His  office  was  a  den,  whence  passers-by  could  hear  rude  ac- 
cents laying  down,  not  the  law,  but  the  good  pleasure  of 
the  Commissary. 

Six  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  day  did  M.  BerthelinI 
hurry  thither  in  quest  of  the  requisite  permission  for  his 
evening's  entertainment;  six  several  times  he  found  the  of- 
ficial was  abroad.  Leon  BerthelinI  began  to  grow  quite  a 
familiar  figure  in  the  streets  of  Castel-le-Gachls ;  he  became 
a  local  celebrity,  and  was  pointed  out  as  "  the  man  who  was 
looking  for  the  Commissary."  Idle  children  attached  them- 
selves to  his  footsteps,  and  trotted  after  him  back  and  for- 
ward between  the  hotel  and  the  office.  Leon  might  try  as 
he  liked ;  he  might  roll  cigarettes,  he  might  straddle,  he  might 
cock  his  hat  at  a  dozen  different  jaunty  inclinations — the 
part  of  Ahnavlva  was,  under  the  circumstances,  difficult  to 
play. 

As  he  passed  the  market-place  upon  the  seventh  excursion 
the  Commissary  was  pointed  out  to  him,  where  he  stood, 
with  his  waistcoat  unbuttoned  and  his  hands  behind  his  back, 
to  superintend  the  sale  and  measurement  of  butter.  Berthe- 
linI threaded  his  way  through  the  market  stalls  and  baskets, 
and  accosted  the  dignitary  with  a  bow  which  was  a  triumph 
of  the  histrionic  art. 

28Q 


PROVIDENCE    AND    THE    GUITAR 

"  I  have  the  honor,"  he  asked,  "  of  meeting  M.  le  Com- 
missaire?  " 

The  Commissary  was  affected  by  the  nobihty  of  his  ad- 
dress. He  excelled  Leon  in  the  depth  if  not  in  the  airy  grace 
of  his  salutation. 

"  The  honor,"  said  he,  "  is  mine!  " 

"  I  am,"  continued  the  strolling-pla3^er,  "  I  am,  sir,  an 
artist,  and  I  have  permitted  myself  to  interrupt  you  on  an 
affair  of  business.  To-night  I  give  a  trifling  musical  enter- 
tainment at  the  Cafe  of  the  Triumphs  of  the  Plough — permit 
me  to  offer  you  this  little  programme — and  I  have  come  to 
ask  you  for  the  necessary  authorization." 

At  the  word  "  artist,"  the  Commissary  had  replaced  his 
hat  with  the  air  of  a  person  who,  having  condescended  too 
far,  should  suddenly  remember  the  duties  of  his  rank. 

"  Go,  go,"  said  he,  "  I  am  busy — I  am  measuring  butter." 

"  Heathen  Jew !  "  thought  Leon.  "  Permit  me,  sir,"  he 
resumed,  aloud.     "  I  have  gone  six  times  already " 

"  Put  up  your  bills  if  you  choose,"  interrupted  the  Com- 
missary. "  In  an  hour  or  so  I  will  examine  your  papers  at 
the  office.     But  now  go ;  I  am  busy." 

"Measuring  butter.?  "  thought  Berthelinl.  "  Oh,  France, 
and  it  is  for  this  that  we  made  '93 !  " 

The  preparations  were  soon  made ;  the  bills  posted,  pro- 
grammes laid  on  the  dinner-table  of  every  hotel  in  the  town, 
and  a  stage  erected  at  one  end  of  the  Cafe  of  the  Triumphs 
of  the  Plough;  but  when  Leon  returned  to  the  office,  the 
Commissary  was  once  more  abroad. 

"  He  is  like  Madame  Benoiton,"  thought  Leon,  "  Fichu 
Commlssaire ! " 

And  just  then  he  met  the  man  face  to  face. 

"  Here,  sir,"  said  he,  "  are  my  papers.  Will  you  be 
pleased  to  verify  ?  " 

But  the  Commissary  was  now  intent  upon  dinner. 

"No  use,"  he  replied,  "no  use;  I  am  busy ;_I_am  quite 
satisfied.     Give  your  entertainment." 

And  he  hurried  on., 

"  Fichu^  Commissaire !."  thought  Leon. 

581 


CHAPTER    II 

THE  audience  was  pretty  large;  and  the  proprietor  of 
the  cafe  made  a  good  thing  of  it  in  beer.  But  the 
Berthehnis  exerted  themselves  in  vain. 

Leon  was  radiant  in  velveteen ;  he  had  a  rakish  way  of 
smoking  a  cigarette  between  his  songs  that  was  worth  money 
in  itself;  he  underhned  his  comic  points,  so  that  the  dullest 
numskull  in  Castel-le-Gachis  had  a  notion  when  to  laugh ; 
and  he  handled  his  guitar  in  a  manner  worthy  of  himself. 
Indeed  his  play  with  that  instrument  was  as  good  as  a  whole 
romantic  drama ;  it  was  so  dashing,  so  florid,  and  so  cavalier. 

Elvira,  on  the  other  hand,  sang  her  patriotic  and  romantic 
songs  with  more  than  usual  expression ;  her  voice  had  charm 
and  plangency ;  and  as  Leon  looked  at  her,  in  her  low-bodied 
maroon  dress,  with  her  arms  bare  to  the  shoulder,  and  a  red 
flower  set  provocatively  in  her  corset,  he  repeated  to  himself 
for  the  many  hundredth  time  that  she  was  one  of  the  loveliest 
creatures  in  the  world  of  women. 

Alas !  when  she  went  round  with  the  tambourine,  the 
golden  youth  of  Castel-le-Gachis  turned  from  her  coldly. 
Here  and  there  a  single  halfpenny  was  forthcoming;  the  net 
result  of  a  collection  never  exceeded  half  a  franc ;  and  the 
Maire  himself,  after  seven  different  applications,  had  con- 
tributed exactly  twopence.  A  certain  chill  began  to  settle 
upon  the  artists  themselves ;  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  sing- 
ing to  slugs ;  Apollo  himself  might  have  lost  heart  with  such 
an  audience.  The  Berthellnis  struggled  against  the  impres- 
sion; they  put  their  back  into  their  work,  they  sang  loud 
and  louder,  the  guitar  twanged  like  a  living  thing;  and  at 
last  Leon  arose  in  his  might,  and  burst  with  inimitable  convic- 
tion into  his  great  song,  "  Y  a  des  honnetes  gens  partout!  " 
Never  had  he  given  more  proof  of  his  artistic  mastery;  it 

282 


PROVIDEISCE   AND   THE    GUITAR 

was  his  intimate,  indefeasible  conviction  that  Castel-le- 
Gachis  formed  an  exception  to  the  law  he  was  now  lyrically 
proclaiming,  and  was  peopled  exclusively  by  thieves  and 
bullies ;  and  yet,  as  I  say,  he  flung  It  down  like  a  challenge, 
he  trolled  it  forth  like  an  article  of  faith;  and  his  face  so 
beamed  the  while  that  you  would  have  thought  he  must  make 
converts  of  the  benches. 

He  was  at  the  top  of  his  register,  with  his  head  thrown 
back  and  his  mouth  open,  when  the  door  was  thrown  violently 
open,  and  a  pair  of  new  comers  marched  noisily  into  the 
cafe.  It  was  the  Commissary,  followed  by  the  Garde 
Champetre. 

The  undaunted  Berthelini  still  continued  to  proclaim  "  Y 
a  des  honnetes  gens  partout !  "  But  now  the  sentiment  pro- 
duced an  audible  titter  among  the  audience.  Berthelini  won- 
dered why ;  he  did  not  know  the  antecedents  of  the  Garde 
Champetre;  he  had  never  heard  of  a  little  story  about  post- 
age stamps.  But  the  public  knew  all  about  the  postage 
stamps,  and  enjoyed  the  coincidence  hugely. 

The  Commissary  planted  himself  upon  a  vacant  chair 
with  somewhat  the  air  of  Cromwell  visiting  the  Rump,  and 
spoke  In  occasional  whispers  to  the  Garde  Champetre,  who 
remained  respectfully  standing  at  his  back.  The  eyes  of 
both  were  directed  upon  Berthelini,  who  persisted  in  his 
statement. 

"  Y  a  des  honnetes  gens  partout,"  he  was  just  chanting 
for  the  twentieth  time ;  when  up  got  the  Commissary  upon 
his  feet  and  waved  brutally  to  the  singer  with  his  cane. 

"Is  it  me  you  want?"  inquired  Leon,  stopping  in  his 
song. 

"  It  is  you,"  replied  the  potentate. 

"  Fichu  Commlssaire ! "  thought  Leon,  and  he  descended 
from  the  stage  and  made  his  way  to  the  functionary. 

"  How  does  It  happen,  sir,"  said  the  Commissary,  swelling 
In  person,  "  that  I  find  you  mountebanking  in  a  public  cafe 
without  my  permission?" 

"  Without  ?  "  cried  the  indignant  Leon.  "  Permit  me  to 
remind  j'ou " 

283 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  Come,  come,  sir ! "  said  the  Commissary,  "  I  desire  no 
explanations." 

"  I  care  nothing  about  what  you  desire,"  returned  the 
singer.  "  I  choose  to  give  them,  and  I  will  not  be  gagged. 
I  am  an  artist,  sirj  a  distinction  that  you  cannot  compre- 
hend. I  received  your  permission  and  stand  here  upon  the 
strength  of  it ;  interfere  with  me  who  dare." 

"  You  have  not  got  my  signature,  I  tell  you,""  cried  the 
Commissary.  *'  Show  me  my  signature  I  Where  is  my 
signature?  " 

That  was  just  the  question;  where  was  his  signature? 
Leon  recognized  that  he  was  in  a  hole;  but  his  spirit  rose 
with  the  occasion,  and  he  blustered  nobly,  tossing  back  his 
curls.  The  Commissary  played  up  to  him  in  the  character 
of  tyrant;  and  as  the  one  leaned  farther  forward,  the  other 
leaned  farther  back — majesty  confronting  fury.  The  audi- 
ence had  transferred  their  attention  to  this  new  perform- 
ance, and  listened  with  that  silent  gravity  common  to  all 
Frenchmen  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  police.  Elvira  had 
sat  down,  she  was  used  to  these  distractions,  and  it  was  rather 
melancholy  than  fear  that  now  oppressed  her. 

"  Another  word,"  cried  the  Commissary,  **  and  I  arrest 
you." 

"  Arrest  me !  "  shouted  Leon.     "  I  defy  you !  " 

"  I  am  the  Commissary  of  Police,"  said  the  official. 

Leon  commanded  his  feelings.,  and  replied,  with  great 
delicacy  of  innuendo — 

"  So  it  would  appear." 

The  point  was  too  refined  for  Castel-le-Gachis ;  it  did  not 
raise  a  smile ;  and  as  for  the  Commissary,  he  simply  bade  the 
singer  follow  him  to  liis  office,  and  directed  his  proud  foot- 
steps towards  the  door.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
obey.  Leon  did  so  with  a  proper  pantomime  of  indifference, 
but  it  was  a  leek  to  eat,  and  there  was  no  denying  it. 

The  Maire  had  slipped  out  and  was  already  waiting  at 
the  Commissary's  door.  Now  the  Maire,  in  France,  is  the 
refuge  of  the  oppressed.  He  stands  between  his  people  and 
the  boisterous  rigors  of  the  Police.     He  can  sometimes  un- 

284 


I 


PROVIDENCE    AND   THE    GUITAK 

derstand  what  is  said  to  him ;  he  is  not  always  puffed  up 
beyond  measure  by  his  dignity.  'Tis  a  thing  worth  the 
knowledge  of  travelers.  When  all  seems  over,  and  a  man 
has  made  up  his  mind  to  Injustice,  he  has  still,  like  the  heroes 
of  romance,  a  little  bugle  at  his  belt  whereon  to  blow;  and 
the  Maire,  a  comfortable  deus  ex  machina,  may  still  descend 
to  deliver  him  from  the  minions  of  the  law.  The  Maire  of 
Castel-le-Gachis,  although  inaccessible  to  the  charms  of 
music  as  retailed  by  the  Berthelinis,  had  no  hesitation  what- 
ever as  to  the  rights  of  the  matter.  He  instantly  fell  foul 
of  the  Commissary  in  very  high  terms,  and  the  Commissary, 
pricked  by  this  humiliation,  accepted  battle  on  the  point  of 
fact.  The  argument  lasted  some  little  while  with  varying 
success,  until  at  length  victory  inclined  so  plainly  to  the 
Commissary's  side  that  the  Maire  was  fain  to  re-assert  him- 
self by  an  exercise  of  authority.  He  had  been  out-argued, 
but  he  was  still  the  Maire.  And  so,  turning  from  his  inter- 
locutor, he  briefly  but  kindly  recommended  Leon  to  go  back 
instanter  to  his  concert. 

"  It  is  already  growing  late,"  he  added. 

Leon  did  not  wait  to  be  told  twice.  He  returned  to  the 
Cafe  of  the  Triumphs  of  the  Plough  with  all  expedition. 
Alas !  the  audience  had  melted  away  during  his  absence ; 
Elvira  was  sitting  in  a  very  disconsolate  attitude  on  the 
guitar-box ;  she  had  watched  the  company  dispersing  by 
twos  and  threes,  and  the  prolonged  spectacle  had  somewhat 
overwhelmed  her  spirits.  Each  man,  she  reflected,  retired 
with  a  certain  proportion  of  her  earnings  in  his  pockets,  and 
she  saw  to-night's  board  and  to-morrow's  railway  expenses, 
and  finally  even  to-morrow's  dinner,  walk  one  after  another 
out  of  the  cafe  door  and  disappear  into  the  night. 

"  What  was  it  ? ''  she  asked,  languidly. 

But  Leon  did  not  answer.  He  was  looking  round  him  on 
the  scene  of  defeat.  Scarce  a  score  of  listeners  remained, 
and  these  of  the  least  promising  sort.  The  minute  hand  of 
the  clock  was  already  climbing  upward  towards  eleven. 

"  It's  a  lost  battle,"  said  he,  and  then  taking  up  the 
money-box,  he  turned  it  out.    "  Three  francs  seventy-five ! " 

286 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

he  cried,  "  as  against  four  of  board  and  six  of  railway  fares ; 
and  no  time  for  the  tombola!  Elvira,  this  is  Waterloo." 
And  he  sat  down  and  passed  both  hands  desperately  among 
his  curls.  "  O  Fichu  Commissaire ! "  he  cried,  "  Fichu 
Commissaire ! " 

"  Let  us  get  the  things  together  and  be  off,"  returned 
Elvira.  "  We  might  try  another  song,  but  there  is  not  six 
halfpence  in  the  room." 

"Six  halfpence.?"  cried  Leon,  "six  hundred  thousand 
devils !  There  is  not  a  human  creature  in  the  town — nothing 
but  pigs  and  dogs  and  commissaires !  Pray  heaven,  we  get 
safe  to  bed." 

"  Don't  imagine  things ! "  exclaimed  Elvira,  with  a 
shudder. 

And  with  that  they  set  to  work  on  their  preparations. 
The  tobacco- jar,  the  cigarette-holder,  the  three  papers  of 
shirt-studs,  which  were  to  have  been  the  prizes  of  the  tom- 
bola had  the  tombola  come  oiF,  were  made  into  a  bundle  with 
the  music;  the  guitar  was  stowed  into  the  fat  guitar-case; 
and  Elvira  having  thrown  a  thin  shawl  about  her  neck  and 
shoulders,  the  pair  issued  from  the  cafe  and  set  off  for  the 
Black  Head. 

As  they  crossed  the  market-place  the  church  bell  rang 
out  eleven.  It  was  a  dark,  mild  night,  and  there  was  no  one 
in  the  streets. 

"  It  is  all  very  fine,"  said  Leon :  "  but  I  have  a  presenti- 
ment.   The  night  is  not  yet  done." 


^86 


CHAPTER    in 

THE  Black  Head  presented  not  a  single  chink  of  light 
upon    the   street,    and   the   carriage   gate   was   closed. 

"  This  is  unprecedented,"  observed  Leon.  "  An  inn  closed 
by  five  minutes  after  eleven!  And  there  were  several  com- 
mercial travelers  in  the  cafe  up  to  a  late  hour,  Elvira,  my 
heart  misgives  me.    Let  us  ring  the  bell." 

The  bell  had  a  potent  note ;  and  being  swung  under  the 
arch  it  filled  the  house  from  top  to  bottom  with  surly,  clang- 
ing reverberations.  The  sound  accentuated  the  conventual 
appearance  of  the  building ;  a  wintry  sentiment,  a  thought 
of  prayer  and  mortification,  took  hold  upon  Elvira's  mind ; 
and  as  for  Leon,  he  seemed  to  be  reading  the  stage  directions 
for  a  lugubrious  fifth  act. 

"  This  is  your  fault,"  said  Elvira :  "  this  is  what  comes  of 
fancying  things !  " 

Again  Leon  pulled  the  bell-rope ;  again  the  solemn  tocsin 
awoke  the  echoes  of  the  inn;  and  ere  they  had  died  away,  a 
light  glimmered  in  the  carriage  entrance,  and  a  powerful 
voice  was  heard  upraised  and  tremulous  with  wrath. 

"  What's  all  this .''  "  cried  the  tragic  host  through  the 
spars  of  the  gate.  "  Hard  upon  twelve,  and  you  come 
clamoring  like  Prussians  at  the  door  of  a  respectable  hotel? 
Oh ! "  he  cried,  "  I  know  you  now !  Common  singers  !  Peo- 
ple in  trouble  with  the  police !  And  you  present  yourselves 
at  midnight  like  lords  and  ladies .''     Be  off  with  you  !  " 

"  You  will  permit  me  to  remind  you,"  said  Leon,  in 
thrilling  tones,  "  that  I  am  a  guest  in  your  house,  that  I  am 
properly  inscribed,  and  that  I  have  deposited  baggage  to 
the  value  of  four  hundred  francs." 

"  You  cannot  get  in  at  this  hour,"  returned  the  man. 
"  This  is  no  thieves'  tavern,  for  raohocks  and  night  rakes 
and  organ-grinders.'* 

287 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  Brute !  "  cried  Elvira,  for  the  organ-grinders  touched 
her  home. 

"  Then  I  demand  my  baggage,*'  said  Leon,  with  unabated 
dignity. 

"  I  know  nothing  of  your  baggage,"  repHed  the  landlord. 

"You  detain  my  baggage.''  You  dare  to  detain  my  bag- 
gage.'' "  cried  the  singer. 

"  Who  are  you.^  "  returned  the  landlord.  "  It  is  dark — I 
cannot  recognize  you." 

"  Very  well,  then — you  detain  my  baggage,"  concluded 
Leon.  "  You  shall  smart  for  this.  I  will  weary  out  your 
life  with  persecutions ;  I  will  drag  you  from  court  to  court ; 
if  there  is  justice  to  be  had  in  France,  it  shall  be  rendered 
between  you  and  me.  And  I  will  make  you  a  by-word — I 
will  put  you  in  a  song — a  scurrilous  song — an  indecent  song 
- — a  popular  song — which  the  boys  shall  sing  to  you  in  the 
street,  and  come  and  howl  through  these  spars  at  mid- 
night ! " 

He  had  gone  on  raising  his  voice  at  every  phrase,  for  all 
the  while  the  landlord  was  very  placidly  retiring;  and  now, 
when  the  last  glimmer  of  light  had  vanished  from  the  arch, 
and  the  last  footstep  died  away  in  the  interior,  Leon  turned 
to  his  wife  with  a  heroic  countenance. 

"  Elvira,"  said  he,  "  I  have  now  a  duty  in  life.  I  shall 
destroy  that  man  as  Eugene  Sue  destroyed  the  concierge. 
Let  us  come  at  once  to  the  Gendarmerie  and  begin  our 
vengeance." 

He  picked  up  the  guitar-case,  which  had  been  propped 
against  the  wall,  and  they  set  forth  through  the  silent  and 
ill-lighted  town  with  burning  hearts. 

The  Gendarmerie  was  concealed  beside  the  telegraph  office 
at  the  bottom  of  a  vast  court,  which  was  partly  laid  out  in 
gardens ;  and  here  all  the  shepherds  of  the  public  lay  locked 
in  grateful  sleep.  It  took  a  deal  of  knocking  to  waken  one ; 
and  he,  when  he  came  at  last  to  the  door,  could  find  no  other 
remark  but  that  "  it  was  none  of  his  business."  Leon  rea- 
soned with  him,  threatened  him,  besought  him ;  *'  here,"  he 
said,  "  was  Madame  Berthelini  in  evening  dress — a  delicate 

288 


PROVIDENCE    AND   THE    GUITAR 

TPoman — in  an  interesting  condition  " — the  last  was  thrown 
in,  I  fancy,  for  effect;  and  to  all  this  the  man-at-arms  made 
the  same  answer: 

"  It  Is  none  of  my  business,"  said  he. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Leon,  "  then  we  shall  go  to  the  Com- 
missary." Thither  they  went ;  the  office  was  closed  and 
dark ;  but  the  house  was  close  by,  and  Leon  was  soon  swing- 
ing the  bell  like  a  madman.  The  Commissary's  wife  ap- 
peared at  a  window.  She  was  a  thread-paper  creature,  and 
informed  them  that  the  Commissary  had  not  yet  come 
home. 

"  Is  he  at  the  Malre's  ?  "  demanded  Leon. 

She  thought  that  was  not  unlikely. 

"  Where  is  the  Maire's  house?  "  he  asked. 

And  she  gave  him  some  rather  vague  information  on  that 
point. 

"  Stay  you  here,  Elvira,"  said  Leon,  "  lest  I  should  miss 
him  by  the  way.  If,  when  I  return,  I  find  you  here  no  longer, 
I  shall  follow  at  once  to  the  Black  Head." 

And  he  set  out  to  find  the  Maire's.  It  took  him  some  ten 
minutes'  wandering  among  the  blind  lanes,  and  when  he  ar- 
rived it  was  already  half  an  hour  past  midnight.  A  long 
white  garden  wall  overhung  by  some  thick  chestnuts,  a  door 
with  a  letter-box,  and  an  iron  bell-pull,  that  was  all  that 
could  be  seen  of  the  Maire's  domicile.  Leon  took  the  bell- 
pull  in  both  hands,  and  danced  furiously  upon  the  side-walk. 
The  bell  itself  was  just  upon  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  it 
responded  to  his  activity,  and  scattered  an  alarming  clangor 
far  and  wide  into  the  night. 

A  window  was  thrown  open  In  a  house  across  the  street, 
and  a  voice  Inquired  the  cause  of  this  untimely  uproar. 

"  I  wish  the  Maire,"  said  Leon. 

"  He  has  been  in  bed  this  hour,"  returned  the  voice. 

"  He  must  get  up  again,"  retorted  Leon,  and  he  was  for 
tackling  the  bell-pull  once  more. 

"  You  will  never  make  him  hear,"  responded  the  voice. 
"  The  garden  Is  of  great  extent,  the  house  is  at  the  farther 
end,  and  both  the  Maire  and  his  housekeeper  are  deaf." 

289 


NEW  ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"Aha!"  said  Leon,  pausing.  "The  Maire  is  deaf,  is 
he?  That  explains."  And  he  thought  of  the  evening's  con- 
cert with  a  momentary  feeling  of  relief.  "  Ah ! "  he  con- 
tinued, "  and  so  the  Maire  is  deaf,  and  the  garden  vast,  and 
the  house  at  the  far  end?  " 

"  And  you  might  ring  all  night,"  added  the  voice,  "  and 
be  none  the  better  for  it.     You  would  only  keep  me  awake." 

"  Thank  you,  neighbor,"  replied  the  singer.  "  You  shall 
sleep." 

And  he  made  off  again  at  his  best  pace  for  the  Commis- 
sary's.   Elvira  was  still  walking  to  and  fro  before  the  door. 

"  He  has  not  come?  "  asked  Leon. 

**  Not  he,"  she  replied. 

"  Good,"  returned  Leon.  "  I  am  sure  our  man's  inside. 
Let  me  see  the  guitar-case.  I  shall  lay  this  siege  in  form, 
Elvira ;  I  am  angry ;  I  am  indignant ;  I  am  truculently  in- 
clined; but  I  thank  my  Maker  I  have  still  a  sense  of  fun. 
The  unjust  judge  shall  be  importuned  in  a  serenade,  Elvira. 
Set  him  up — and  set  him  up." 

He  had  the  case  opened  by  this  time,  struck  a  few  chords, 
and  fell  into  an  attitude  which  was  irresistibly  Spanish. 

"  Now,"  he  continued,  "  feel  your  voice.  Are  you  ready.'' 
Follow  me!" 

The  guitar  twanged,  and  the  two  voices  upraised,  in  har- 
mony and  with  a  startling  loudness,  the  chorus  of  a  song  of 
old  Beranger's: — 

"  Commissaire  I     Commissaire  I 
Colin  bat  sa  menagere." 

The  stones  of  Castel-le-Gachis  thrilled  at  this  audacious 
innovation.  Hitherto  had  the  night  been  sacred  to  repose 
and  nightcaps ;  and  now  what  was  this  ?  Window  after 
window  was  opened;  matches  scratched,  and  candles  began 
to  flicker;  swollen  sleepy  faces  peered  forth  into  the  star- 
light. There  were  two  figures  before  the  Commissary's 
house,  each  bolt  upright,  with  head  thrown  back  and  eyes 
interrogating  the  starry  heavens ;  the  guitar  wailed,  shouted, 

290 


PROVIDENCE   AND   THE    GUITAR 

and  reverberated  like  half  an  orchestra ;  and  the  voices,  with 
a  crisp  and  spirited  delivery,  hurled  the  appropriate  burden 
at  the  Commissary's  window.  All  the  echoes  repeated  the 
functionary's  name.  It  was  more  like  an  entr'acte  in  a 
farce  of  Moh^re's  than  a  passage  of  real  life  in  Castel-le- 
Gachis. 

The  Commissary,  if  he  was  not  the  first,  was  not  the  last 
of  the  neighbors  to  yield  to  the  influence  of  music,  and 
furiously  throw  open  the  window  of  his  bedroom.  He  was 
beside  himself  with  rage.  He  leaned  far  over  the  window- 
sill,  raving  and  gesticulating;  the  tassel  of  his  white  night- 
cap danced  like  a  thing  of  hfe:  he  opened  his  mouth  to 
dimensions  hitherto  unprecedented,  and  yet  his  voice,  instead 
of  escaping  from  it  in  a  roar,  came  forth  shrill  and  choked 
and  tottering.  A  little  more  serenading,  and  it  was  clear 
he  would  be  better  acquainted  with  the  apoplexy. 

I  scorn  to  reproduce  his  language ;  he  touched  upon  too 
many  serious  topics  by  the  way  for  a  quiet  story-teller. 
Although  he  was  known  for  a  man  who  was  prompt  with  his 
tongue,  and  had  a  power  of  strong  expression  at  command, 
he  excelled  himself  so  remarkably  this  night,  that  one  maiden 
lady,  who  had  got  out  of  bed  like  the  rest  to  hear  the  sere- 
nade, was  obliged  to  shut  her  window  at  the  second  clause. 
Even  what  she  had  heard  disquieted  her  conscience ;  and  next 
day  she  said  she  scarcely  reckoned  as  a  maiden  lady  any 
longer. 

Leon  tried  to  explain  his  predicament,  but  he  received 
nothing  but  threats  of  arrest  by  way  of  answer. 

"  If  I  come  down  to  j'ou ! "  cried  the  Commissary. 

«  Aye,"  said  Leon,  "  do !  " 

"  I  will  not !  "  cried  the  Commissary. 

**  You  dare  not !  "  answered  Leon. 

At  that  the  Commissary  closed  his  window. 

*'  All  is  over,"  said  the  singer.  "  The  serenade  was  per- 
haps ill-judged.     These  boors  have  no  sense  of  humor." 

"  Let  us  get  away  from  here,"  said  Elvira,  with  a  shiver. 
"  All  these  people  looking — it  is  so  rude  and  so  brutal." 
And  then   giving  way   once  more  to   passion — "  Brutes !  " 

291 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

she    cried    aloud    to     the    candle-lit    spectators — "  brutes ! 

brutes !  brutes." 

"  Sauve  qui  pent,"  said  Leon.     "  You  have  done  it  now !  " 
And  taking  the  guitar  in  one  hand  and  the  case  in  the 

other,  he  led  the  way  with  something  too  precipitate  to  be 

merely   called  precipitation  from  the  scene  of  this  absurd 

adventure. 


292 


CHAPTER  IV 

TO  the  west  of  Castel-le-Gachis  four  rows  of  venerable 
lime-trees  formed,  in  this  starry  night,  a  twilit  avenue 
with  two  side  aisles  of  pitch  darkness.  Here  and  there  stone 
benches  were  disposed  between  trunks.  There  was  not  a 
breath  of  wind;  a  heavy  atmosphere  of  perfume  hung  about 
the  alleys;  and  every  leaf  stood  stock-still  upon  its  twig. 
Hither,  after  vainly  knocking  at  an  inn  or  two,  the  Berthe- 
linis  came  at  length  to  pass  the  night.  After  an  amiable 
contention,  Leon  insisted  on  giving  his  coat  to  Elvira,  and 
they  sat  dcwn  together  on  the  first  bench  in  silence,  Leon 
made  a  cigarette,  which  he  smoked  to  an  end,  looking  up 
into  the  trees,  and,  beyond  them,  at  the  constellations,  of 
which  he  tried  vainly  to  recall  the  names.  The  silence  was 
broken  by  the  church  bell;  it  rang  the  four  quarters  on  a 
light  and  tinkling  measure;  then  followed  a  single  deep 
stroke  that  died  slowly  away  with  a  thriU;  and  stillness 
resumed  its  empire. 

"  One,"  said  Leon.  "  Four  hours  till  daylight.  It  is 
warm ;  it  is  starry ;  I  have  matches  and  tobacco.  Do  not  let 
us  exaggerate,  Elvira — the  experience  is  positively  charm- 
ing. I  feel  a  glow  within  me;  I  am  born  again.  This  is  the 
poetry  of  life.    Think  of  Cooper's  novels,  my  dear." 

"  Leon,"  she  said,  fiercely,  "  how  can  you  talk  sucK 
wicked,  infamous  nonsense.''  To  pass  all  night  out  of  doors 
—it  is  like  a  nightmare!    We  shall  die." 

"  You  suffer  yourself  to  be  led  away,"  he  rephed,  sooth- 
ingly. "  It  is  not  unpleasant  here ;  only  you  brood.  Come, 
now,  let  us  repeat  a  scene.  Shall  we  try  Alceste  and 
Celimene.?  No.?  Or  a  passage  from  the  'Two  Orphans.?' 
Come,  now,  it  will  occupy  your  mind;  I  will  play  up  to  you 
as  I  never  have  played  before;  I  feel  ax*t  moving  in  my 
bones." 

293 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  Hold  your  tongue,"  she  cried,  "  or  you  will  drive  me 
mad!  Will  nothing  solemnize  you — ^not  even  this  hideous 
situation  ?  " 

"Oh,  hideous!"  objected  Leon.  "Hideous  is  not  the 
word.  Why,  where  would  you  be  ?  *  Dites,  la  jeune  helle, 
ou  voulez-vouz  allerf  '  "  he  carolled.  "  Well,  now,"  he  went 
on,  opening  the  guitar-case,  "  there's  another  Idea  for  you 
— sing.  Sing  '  Dites,  la  jeune  belle!  *  It  will  compose  your 
spirits,  Elvira,  I  am  sure." 

And  without  waiting  an  answer  he  began  to  strum  the 
symphony.  The  first  chords  awoke  a  young  man  who  was 
lying  asleep  upon  a  neighboring  bench. 

"  Hullo !  "  cried  the. young  man,  "  who  are  you?  " 

"  Under  which  king,  Bezonlan .'' "  declaimed  the  artist. 
"Speak  or  die!" 

Or  if  it  was  not  exactly  that,  It  was  something  to  much 
the  same  purpose  from  a  French  tragedy. 

The  young  man  drew  near  in  the  twilight.  He  was  a  tall, 
powerful,  gentlemanly  fellow,  with  a  somewhat  puffy  face, 
dressed  in  a  gray  tweed  suit,  with  a  deerstalker  hat  of  the 
same  material;  and  as  he  now  came  forward  he  carried  a 
knapsack  slung  upon  one  arm. 

"Are  you  camping  out  here,  too?"  he  asked,  with  a 
strong  English  accent.     "  I'm  not  sorry  for  company." 

Leon  explained  their  misadventure;  and  the  other  told 
them  that  he  was  a  Cambridge  undergraduate  on  a  walking 
tour,  that  he  had  run  short  of  money,  could  no  longer  pay 
for  his  night's  lodging,  had  already  been  camping  out  for 
two  nights,  and  feared  he  should  require  to  continue  the 
same  manoeuvre  for  at  least  two  nights  more. 

"Luckily,  it's  jolly  weather,"  he  concluded. 

"  You  hear  that,  Elvira,"  said  Leon.  "  Madame  Berthe- 
Hni,"  he  went  on,  "  is  ridiculously  affected  by  this  trifling 
occurrence.  For  my  part,  I  find  it  romantic  and  far  from 
uncomfortable;  or  at  least,"  he  added,  shifting  on  the  stone 
bench,  "  not  quite  so  uncomfortable  as  might  have  been 
expected.     But  pray  be  seated." 

"  Yes,"  returned  the  undergraduate,  sitting  down,  "  it's 

29* 


PROVIDENCE    AND   THE    GUITAR 

rather  nice  than  otherwise  when  once  you're  used  to  it ;  only 
it's  devilish  difficult  to  get  washed.  I  like  the  fresh  air  and 
these  stars  and  things." 

"  Aha !  "  said  Leon,  "  Monsieur  is  an  artist." 

"  An  artist  ^  "  returned  the  other,  with  a  blank  stare. 
«  Not  if  I  know  it !  " 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  the  actor.  "  What  you  said  this 
moment  about  the  orbs  of  heaven " 

"  Oh,  nonsense !  "  cried  the  Englishman.  "  A  fellow  may 
admire  the  stars  and  be  anything  he  likes." 

"  You  have  an  artist's  nature,  however,  Mr.  I  beg 

your  pardon ;  may  I,  without  indiscretion,  inquire  your 
name.'* "  asked  Leon. 

"  My  name  is  Stubbs,"  replied  the  Englishman. 

"  I  thank  you,"  returned  Leon.  "  Mine  is  Berthelini — 
Leon  Berthelini,  ex-artist  of  the  theatres  of  Montrouge, 
Belleville,  and  Montmartre.  Humble  as  you  see  me,  I  have 
created  with  applause  more  than  one  important  role.  The 
Press  were  unanimous  in  praise  of  my  Howling  Devil  of  the 
Mountains,  in  the  piece  of  the  same  name.  Madame,  whom 
I  now  present  to  you,  is  herself  an  artist,  and  I  must  not 
omit  to  state,  a  better  artist  than  her  husband.  She  also  is 
a  creator;  she  created  nearly  twenty  successful  songs  at  one 
of  the  principal  Parisian  music-halls.  But,  to  continue,  I 
was  saying  you  had  an  artist's  nature.  Monsieur  Stubbs, 
and  you  must  permit  me  to  be  a  judge  in  such  a  question.  I 
trust  you  will  not  falsify  your  instincts ;  let  me  beseech  you 
to  follow  the  career  of  an  artist." 

"  Thank  you,"  returned  Stubbs,  with  a  chuckle.  "  I'm 
going  to  be  a  banker." 

"  No,"  said  Leon,  "  do  not  say  so.  Not  that.  A  man 
with  such  a  nature  as  yours  should  not  derogate  so  far. 
What  are  a  few  privations  here  and  there,  so  long  as  you 
are  working  for  a  high  and  noble  goal.''  " 

"  This  fellow's  mad,"  thought  Stubbs ;  "  but  the  woman's 
rather  pretty,  and  he's  not  bad  fun  for  himself,  if  you 
come  to  that."  What  he  said  was  different.  "  I  thought 
you  said  you  were  an  actor?  " 

295 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

"  I  certainly  did  so,"  replied  Leon.  *'  I  am  one,  or,  alas ! 
I  was." 

"  And  so  you  want  mc  to  bo  an  actor,  do  you?  "  continued 
the  undergraduate.  "  Why,  man,  I  could  never  so  much  as 
learn  the  stuff;  my  memory's  like  a  sieve;  and  as  for  acting, 
I've  no  more  idea  than  a  cat." 

"  The  stage  is  not  the  only  course,"  said  Leon.  "  Be  a 
sculptor,  be  a  dancer,  be  a  poet  or  a  novelist;  follow  your 
heart,  in  short,  and  do  some  thorough  work  before  you  die." 

"  And  do  you  call  these  things  art?  "  inquired  Stubbs. 

"  Why,  certainly !  "  returned  Leon.  "  Are  they  not  all 
branches  ?  " 

"  Oh !  I  didn't  know,"  replied  the  Englishman.  "  I 
thought  an  artist  meant  a  fellow  who  painted." 

The  singer  stared  at  him  in  some  surprise. 

"  It  is  the  difference  of  language,"  he  said  at  last. 
"  This  Tower  of  Babel,  when  shall  we  have  paid  for  it  ?  If 
I  could  speak  English  you  would  follow  me  more  readily." 

"  Between  you  and  me,  I  don't  believe  I  should,"  replied 
the  other.  "  You  seem  to  have  thought  a  devil  of  a  lot 
about  this  business.  For  my  part,  I  admire  the  stars,  and 
like  to  have  them  shining — it's  so  cheery — ^but  hang  me  if  I 
had  an  idea  it  had  anything  to  do  with  art!  It's  not  in  my 
line,  you  see.  I'm  not  intellectual ;  I  have  no  end  of  trouble 
to  scrape  through  my  exams.,  I  can  tell  you !  But  I'm  not  a 
bad  sort  at  bottom,"  he  added,  seeing  his  interlocutor  looked 
distressed  even  in  the  dim  starshine,  "  and  I  rather  like  the 
play,  and  music,  and  guitars,  and  things." 

Leon  had  a  perception  that  the  understanding  was  incom- 
plete.    He  changed  the  subject. 

"  And  so  you  travel  on  foot?  "  he  continued.  **  How 
romantic !  How  courageous !  And  how  are  you  pleased 
with  my  land  ?  How  does  the  scenery  affect  you  among  these 
wild  hills  of  ours?  " 

"Well,  the  fact  is,"  began  Stubbs — ^he  was  about  to  say 
that  he  didn't  care  for  scenery,  which  was  not  at  all  true, 
being,  on  the  contrary,  only  an  athletic  undergraduate  pre- 
tension ;  but  he  had  begun  to  suspect  that  Berthelini  liked 

2SlQ 


PROVIDENCE    AND    THE    GUITAR 

different  sort  of  meat,  and  substituted  something  else — - 
"  The  fact  is,  I  think  it  jolly.  They  told  me  it  was  no  good 
up  here;  even  the  guide-book  said  so;  but  I  don't  know  what 
they  meant.  I  think  it  is  deuced  pretty — upon  my  word, 
I  do." 

At  this  moment,  in  the  most  unexpected  manner,  Elvira 
burst  into  tears. 

"  My  voice !  "  she  cried.  "  Leon,  if  I  stay  here  longer  I 
shall  lose  my  voice !  " 

"  You  shall  not  stay  another  moment,"  cried  the  actor. 
"  If  I  have  to  beat  in  a  door,  if  I  have  to  burn  the  town,  I 
shall  find  you  shelter." 

With  that,  he  replaced  the  guitar,  and  comforting  her 
with  some  caresses,  drew  her  arm  through  his. 

"  Monsieur  Stubbs,"  said  he,  taking  off  his  hat,  "  the 
reception  I  offer  you  is  rather  problematical ;  but  let  me 
beseech  you  to.  give  us  the  pleasure  of  your  society.  You 
are  a  little  embarrassed  for  the  moment;  you  must,  indeed, 
permit  me  to  advance  what  may  be  necessary.  I  ask  it  as  a 
favor;  we  must  not  part  so  soon  after  having  met  so 
strangely." 

"  Oh,  come,  you  know,"  said  Stubbs,"  "  I  can't  let  a  fel- 
low like  you "     And  there  he  paused,  feeling  somehow 

or  other  on  a  wrong  tack. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  employ  menaces,"  continued  Leon,  with 
a  smile ;  "  but  if  you  refuse,  indeed  I  shall  not  take  it 
kindly."    • 

"  I  don't  quite  see  my  way  out  of  it,"  thought  the  under- 
graduate; and  then,  after  a  pause,  he  said,  aloud  and  un- 
graciously enough,  "  All  right.  I — I'm  very  much  obliged, 
of  course."  And  he  proceeded  to  follow  them,  thinking  in 
his  heart,  "  But  it's  bad  form,  all  the  same,  to  force  an 
obligation  oa  a  fellow.** 


397 


CHAPTER    V 

LEON  strode  ahead  as  if  he  knew  exactly  where  he  was 
J  going;  the  sobs  of  Madame  were  still  faintly  audible, 
and  no  one  uttered  a  word.  A  dog  barked  furiously  in  a 
court-yard  as  they  went  by ;  then  the  church  clock  struck 
two,  and  many  domestic  clocks  followed  or  preceded  it  in 
piping  tones.  And  just  then  BerthelinI  spied  a  light.  It 
burned  in  a  small  house  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and 
thither  the  party  now  directed  their  steps. 

"  It  is  always  a  chance,"  said  Leon. 

The  house  in  question  stood  back  from  the  street  behind 
an  open  space,  part  garden,  part  turnip  field;  and  several 
outhouses  stood  forward  from  either  wing  at  right  angles 
to  the  front.  One  of  these  had  recently  undergone  some 
change.  An  enormous  window,  looking  towards  the  north, 
had  been  effected  in  the  wall  and  roof,  and  Leon  began  to 
hope  it  was  a  studio. 

"  If  it's  only  a  painter,"  he  said,  with  a  chuckle,  "  ten 
to  one  we  get  as  good  a  welcome  as  we  want." 

"  I  thought  painters  were  principally  poor,"  said  Stubbs. 

"  Ah,"  cried  Leon,  "  you  do  not  know  the  world  as  I  do. 
The  poorer  the  better  for  us." 

And  the  trio  advanced  into  the  turnip  field. 

The  light  was  in  the  ground  floor ;  as  one  window  was 
brightly  illuminated  and  two  others  more  faintly,  it  might 
be  supposed  that  there  was  a  single  lamp  in  one  corner  of  a 
large  apartment;  and  a  certain  tremulousness  and  tempo- 
rary dwindling  showed  that  a  live  fire  contributed  to  the 
effect.  The  sound  of  a  voice  now  became  audible ;  and  the 
trespassers  paused  to  listen.  It  was  pitched  in  a  high,  angry 
key,  but  had  still  a  good,  full,  and  masculine  note  in  it.  The 
utterance  was  voluble,  too  voluble  even  to  be  quite  distinct; 
a  stream  of  words,  rising  and  falling,  with  ever  and  again 

298 


PROVIDENCE    AND   THE    GUITAR 

a  phrase  thrown  out  by  itself,  as  if  the  speaker  reckoned  on 
its  virtue. 

Suddenly  another  voice  joined  in.  This  time  it  was  a 
woman's ;  and  if  the  man  were  angry,  the  woman  was  in- 
censed to  the  degree  of  fury.  There  was  that  absolutely 
blank  composure  known  to  suffering  males ;  that  colorless 
unnatural  speech  which  shows  a  spirit  accurately  balanced 
between  homicide  and  hysterics ;  the  tone  in  which  the  best  of 
women  sometimes  utter  words  worse  than  death  to  those  most 
dear  to  them.  If  Abstract  Bones-and-Sepulchre  were  to  be 
endowed  with  the  gift  of  speech,  thus,  and  not  otherwise, 
would  it  discourse.  Leon  was  a  brave  man,  and  I  fear  he 
was  somewhat  sceptically  given  (he  had  been  educated  in  a 
Papistical  country),  but  the  habit  of  childhood  prevailed, 
and  he  crossed  himself  devoutly.  He  had  met  several  women 
in  his  career.  It  was  obvious  that  his  instinct  had  not  de- 
ceived him,  for  the  male  voice  broke  forth  instantly  in  a 
towering  passion. 

The  undergraduate,  who  had  not  understood  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  woman's  contribution,  pricked  up  his  ears 
at  the  change  upon  the  man. 

"  There's  going  to  be  a  free  fight,"  he  opined. 

There  was  another  retort  from  the  woman,  still  calm  but 
a  little  higher. 

"Hysterics.?"  asked  Leon  of  his  wife.  "Is  that  the 
stage  direction  .f^  " 

"  How  should  I  know?  "  returned  Elvira,  somewhat  tartly. 

"  Oh,  woman,  woman !  "  said  Leon,  beginning  to  open  the 
guitar-case.  "  It  is  one  of  the  burdens  of  my  life.  Monsieur 
Stubbs ;  they  support  each  other ;  they  always  pretend  there 
is  no  system;  they  say  it's  nature.  Even  Madame  Berthe- 
lini,  who  is  a  dramatic  artist ! " 

"  You  are  heartless,  Leon,"  said  Elvira :  "  that  woman 
is  in  trouble." 

"And  the  man,  my  angel?"  inquired  Berthelini,  passing 
the  ribbon  of  his  guitar.     "  And  the  man,  rn  amour?  " 

"  He  is  a  man,"  she  answered. 

"  i^'ou  hear  that?  "  said  Leon  to  Stubbs.     "  It  is  not  too 

299 


KEW  AHABIAN   NIGHTS 

late  for  you.  ]\Iark  the  intonation.  And  now,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  what  are  we  to  give  them  ?  " 

**  Are  you  going  to  sing  ?  "  asked  Stubbs. 

"  I  am  a  troubadour,"  replied  Leon.  "  I  claim  a  welcome 
by  and  for  my  art.   If  I  Avere  a  banker  could  I  do  as  much,^  " 

"  Well,  you  wouldn't  need,  you  know,"  answered  the 
undergraduate. 

"  Egad,"  said  Leon,  "  but  that's  true.  Elvira,  that  is 
true." 

"  Of  course  it  is,"  she  replied.     "  Did  you  not  know  it?  " 

*'  My  dear,"  answered  Leon,  impressively,  "  I  know  noth- 
ing but  what  is  agreeable.  Even  my  knowledge  of  life  is  a 
work  of  art  superiorly  composed.  But  what  are  we  to  give 
them?     It  should  be  something  appropriate." 

Visions  of  "  Let  dogs  delight "  passed  through  the  under- 
graduate's mind ;  but  it  occurred  to  him  that  the  poetry  was 
English  and  that  he  did  not  know  the  air.  Hence  he  con- 
tributed no  suggestion. 

"  Something  about  our  houselessness,"  said  Elvira. 

"  I  have  it,"  cried  Leon.  And  he  broke  forth  into  a  song 
of  Pierre  Dupont's: — 

Savez-vous  ou  gite 
Mai,  ce  joli  mois? 

Elvira  joined  in ;  so  did  Stubbs,  with  a  good  ear  and  voice, 
but  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  music.  Leon  and 
the  guitar  were  equal  to  the  situation.  The  actor  dispensed 
his  throat -notes  with  prodigality  and  enthusiasm ;  and,  as 
he  looked  up  to  heaven  in  his  heroic  way,  tossing  the  black 
ringlets,  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  very  stars  contributed  a 
dumb  applause  to  his  efforts,  and  the  universe  lent  him  its 
silence  for  a  chorus.  That  is  one  of  the  best  feature*^  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  that  they  belong  to  everybody  in  particu- 
lar ;  and  a  man  like  Leon,  a  chronic  Endymion  who  managed 
to  get  along  without  encouragement,  is  always  the  world's 
centre  for  himself. 

He  alone — and  it  is  to  be  noted,  he  was  the  worst  singer 

SOO 


PROVIDEl^^CE   AND   THE    GUITAR 

of  the  three — took  the  music  seriously  to  heart,  and  judged 
the  serenade  from  a  high  artistic  point  of  view.  Elvira,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  preoccupied  about  their  reception ;  and, 
as  for  Stubbs,  he  considered  the  whole  affair  in  the  light  of 
a  broad  joke. 

"Know  you  the  lair  of  May,  the  lovely  month?"  went 
the  three  voices  in  the  turnip-field. 

The  inhabitants  were  plainly  fluttered;  the  light  moved  to 
and  fro,  strengthening  in  one  window,  paling  in  another; 
and  then  the  door  was  thrown  open,  and  a  man  in  a  blouse 
appeared  on  the  threshold  carrying  a  lamp.  He  was  a 
powerful  young  fellow,  with  bewildered  hair  and  beard, 
wearing  his  neck  open ;  his  blouse  was  stained  with  oil-colors 
in  a  harlequinesque  disorder;  and  there  was  something  rural 
in  the  droop  and  bagginess  of  his  belted  trousers. 

From  immediately  behind  him,  and  indeed  over  his 
shoulder,  a  woman's  face  looked  out  into  the  darkness;  it 
was  pale  and  a  Httle  weary,  although  still  young:  it  wore  a 
dwindling,  disappearing  prettiness,  soon  to  be  quite  gone, 
and  the  expression  was  both  gentle  and  sour,  and  reminded 
one  faintly  of  the  taste  of  certain  drugs.  For  all  that,  it 
was  not  a  face  to  dislike;  when  the  prettiness  had  vanished, 
it  seemed  as  if  a  certain  pale  beauty  might  step  in  to  take 
its  place;  and  as  both  the  mildness  and  the  asperity  were 
characters  of  youth,  it  might  be  hoped  that,  with  years, 
both  would  merge  into  a  constant,  brave,  and  not  unkindly 
temj)er. 

"  What  is  all  this?  "  cried  the  man. 


301 


CHAPTER    VI 

LEON  had  his  hat  in  his  hand  at  once.  He  came  forward 
J  with  his  customary  grace ;  it  was  a  moment  which  would 
have  earned  him  a  round  of  cheering  on  the  stage.  Elvira 
and  Stubbs  advanced  behind  him,  like  a  couple  of  Admetus's 
sheep  following  the  god  Apollo. 

"  Sir,"  said  Leon,  "  the  hour  is  unpardonably  late,  and 
our  little  serenade  has  the  air  of  an  impertinence.  Believe 
me,  sir,  it  is  an  appeal.  Monsieur  is  an  artist,  I  perceive. 
We  are  here  three  artists  benighted  and  without  shelter,  one 
a  woman — a  delicate  woman — in  evening  dress — in  an  in- 
teresting situation.  This  will  not  fail  to  touch  the  woman's 
heart  of  Madame,  whom  I  perceive  indistinctly  behind 
Monsieur  her  husband,  and  whose  face  speaks  eloquently  of 
a  well-regulated  mind.  Ah!  Monsieur,  Madame — one  gener- 
ous movement,  and  you  make  three  people  happy !  Two  or 
three  hours  beside  your  fire — I  ask  it  of  Monsieur  in  the 
name  of  Art — I  ask  it  of  Madame  by  the  sanctity  of  woman- 
hood." 

The  two,  as  by  a  tacit  consent,  drew  back  from  the  door. 

*'  Come  in,"  said  the  man. 

"  Entrez,  Madame,"  said  the  woman. 

The  door  opened  directly  upon  the  kitchen  of  the  house, 
which  was  to  all  appearance  the  only  sitting-room.  The 
furniture  was  both  plain  and  scanty;  but  there  were  one  or 
two  landscapes  on  the  wall  handsomely  framed,  as  if  they 
had  already  visited  the  committee-rooms  of  an  exhibition  and 
been  thence  extruded.  Leon  walked  up  to  the  pictures  and 
represented  the  part  of  a  connoisseur  before  each  in  turn, 
with  his  usual  dramatic  insight  and  force.  The  master  of 
the  house,  as  if  irresistibly  attracted,  followed  him  from 
canvas  to  canvas  with  the  lamp.  Elvira  was  led  directly  to 
the  fire,  where  she  proceeded  to  warm  herself,  while  Stubbs 

S02 


PROVIDENCE   AND   THE    GUITAR 

stood  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  and  followed  the  proceedings 
of  Leon  with  mild  astonishment  in  his  eyes. 

"  You  should  see  them  by  daylight,"  said  the  artist. 

"  I  promise  myself  that  pleasure,"  said  Leon.  "  You 
possess,  sir,  if  you  will  permit  me  an  observation,  the  art  of 
composition  to  a  T." 

"  You  are  very  good,"  returned  the  other.  **  But  should 
you  not  draw  nearer  to  the  fire.''  " 

"  With  all  my  heart,"  said  Leon. 

And  the  whole  party  soon  gathered  at  the  table  over  a 
hasty  and  not  an  elegant  cold  supper,  washed  down  with  the 
least  of  small  wines.  Nobody  liked  the  meal,  but  nobody 
complained;  they  put  a  good  face  upon  it,  one  and  all,  and 
made  a  great  clattering  of  knives  and  forks.  To  see  Leon 
eating  a  single  cold  sausage  was  to  see  a  triumph;  by  the 
time  he  had  done  he  had  got  through  as  much  pantomime 
as  would  have  sufficed  for  a  baron  of  beef,  and  he  had  the 
relaxed  expression  of  the  over-eaten. 

As  Elvira  had  naturally  taken  a  place  by  the  side  of 
Leon,  and  Stubbs  as  naturally,  although  I  believe  uncon- 
sciously, by  the  side  of  Elvira,  the  host  and  hostess  were  left 
together.  Yet  it  was  to  be  noted  that  they  never  addressed 
a  word  to  each  other,  nor  so  much  as  suff^ered  their  eyes  to 
meet.  The  interrupted  skirmish  still  survived  in  ill  feeling; 
and  the  instant  the  guests  departed  it  would  break  forth 
again  as  bitterly  as  ever.  The  talk  wandered  from  this  to 
that  subject — for  with  one  accord  the  party  had  declared 
it  was  too  late  to  go  to  bed;  but  those  two  never  relaxed 
towards  each  other ;  Goneril  and  Regan  in  a  sisterly  tiff  were 
not  more  bent  on  enmity. 

It  chanced  that  Elvira  was  so  much  tired  by  all  the  little 
excitements  of  the  night,  that  for  once  she  laid  aside  her 
company  manners,  which  were  both  easy  and  correct,  and  in 
the  most  natural  manner  in  the  world  leaned  her  head  on 
Leon's  shoulder.  At  the  same  time,  fatigue  suggesting  ten- 
derness, she  locked  the  fingers  of  her  right  hand  into  those 
of  her  husband's  left;  and,  half -closing  her  e^-^es,  dozed  off 
into  a  golden  borderland  between  sleep  and  waking.     But 

303 


NEW  ARABIAN  NIGHTS 

all  the  time  she  was  not  unaware  of  what  was  passing,  and 
saw  the  painters  wife  studying  her  with  looks  between  con- 
tempt and  envy. 

It  occurred  to  Leon  that  his  constitution  demanded  the 
use  of  some  tobacco ;  and  he  undid  his  fingers  from  Elvira's 
in  order  to  roll  a  cigarette.  It  was  gently  done,  and  he  took 
care  that  his  indulgence  should  in  no  other  way  disturb  his 
wife's  position.  But  it  seemed  to  catch  the  eye  of  the 
painter's  wife  with  a  special  significancy.  She  looked 
straight  before  her  for  an  instant,  and  then,  with  a  swift 
and  stealthy  movement,  took  hold  of  her  husband's  hand 
below  the  table.  Alas !  she  might  have  spared  herself  the 
dexterity.  For  the  poor  fellow  was  so  overcome  by  this 
caress  that  he  stopped  with  his  mouth  open  in  the  middle  of 
a  word,  and  by  the  expression  of  his  face  plainly  declared 
to  all  the  company  that  his  thoughts  had  been  diverted  into 
softer  channels. 

If  it  had  not  been  rather  amiable,  it  would  have  been 
absurdly  droll.  His  wife  at  once  withdrew  her  touch;  but 
it  was  plain  she  had  to  exert  some  force.  Thereupon  the 
young  man  colored  and  looked  for  a  moment  beautiful. 

Leon  and  Elvira  both  observed  the  by-play,  and  a  shock 
passed  from  one  to  the  other ;  for  they  were  inveterate  match- 
makers, especially  between  those  who  were  already  married. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Leon,  suddenly.  "  I  see  no 
use  in  pretending.  Before  we  came  in  here  we  heard  sounds 
indicating — if  I  may  so  express  myself — an  imperfect 
harmony." 

"  Sir "  began  the  man. 

But  the  woman  was  beforehand. 

"  It  is  quite  true,"  she  said.  "  I  see  no  cause  to  be 
ashamed.  If  my  husband  is  mad  I  shall  at  least  do  my 
utmost  to  prevent  the  consequences.  Picture  to  yourself. 
Monsieur  and  Madame,"  she  went  on,  for  she  passed  Stubbs 
over,  "  that  this  wretched  person — a  dauber,  an  incom- 
petent, not  fit  to  be  a  sign-painter — receives  this  morning 
an  admirable  offer  from  an  uncle — an  uncle  of  my  own,  my 
mother's  brother,  and  tenderly  beloved — of  a  clerkship  with 

S04> 


PROVIDENCE    AND   THE    GUITAK 

nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year,  and  that  he — 
picture  to  yourself ! — ^lie  refuses  it !  Why  ?  For  the  sake  of 
Art,  he  says.  Look  at  his  art,  I  say — look  at  it!  Is  it  fit 
to  be  seen?  Ask  him — -is  it  fit  to  be  sold?  And  it  is  for  this. 
Monsieur  and  Madame,  that  he  condemns  me  to  the  most 
deplorable  existence,  without  luxuries,  without  comforts,  in 
a  vile  suburb  of  a  country  town.  O  non!  "  she  cried,  "  non 
— je  ne  me  tairai  pas — c'est  plus  fort  que  moi!  I  take  these 
gentlemen  and  this  lady  for  judges — is  this  kind?  is  it  de- 
cent r  is  it  manly  ?  Do  I  not  deserve  better  at  his  hands  after 
having  married  him  and  " — (a  visible  hitch) — "  done  every- 
thing in  the  world  to  please  him  ?  " 

I  doubt  if  there  were  ever  a  more  embarrassed  company 
at  a  table ;  everyone  looked  like  a  fool ;  and  the  husband  like 
the  biggest. 

"  The  art  of  Monsieur,  however,"  said  Elvira,  breaking 
the  silence,  "  is  not  wanting  in  distinction." 

"  It  has  this  distinction,"  said  the  wife,  "  that  nobody  will 
buy  it." 

"  I  should  have  supposed  a  clerkship "  began  Stubbs. 

*'  Art  is  Art,"  swept  in  Leon.  "  I  salute  Art.  It  is  the 
beautiful,  the  divine;  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  the 
pride  of  life.     But "     And  the  actor  paused. 

"  A  clerkship "  began  Stubbs. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is,"  said  the  painter.  **  I  am  an 
artist,  and  as  this  gentleman  says.  Art  is  this  and  the  other; 
but  of  course,  if  my  wife  is  going  to  make  my  life  a  piece  of 
perdition  all  day  long,  I  prefer  to  go  and  drown  myself  out 
of  hand." 

"  Go !  "  said  his  wife.    **  I  should  like  to  see  you !  " 

*'  I  was  going  to  say,"  resumed  Stubbs,  "  that  a  fellow 
may  be  a  clerk  and  paint  almost  as  much  as  he  likes.  I  know 
a  fellow  in  a  bank  who  makes  capital  water-color  sketches; 
he  even  sold  one  for  seven-and-slx." 

To  both  the  women  this  seemed  a  plank  of  safety;  each 
hopefully  interrogated  the  countenance  of  her  lord;  even 
Elvira,  an  artist  herself! — but  indeed  there  must  be  some- 
thing permanently  mercantile  in  the  female  nature.     The 

305 


NEW   ARABIAN   NIGHTS 

two  men  exchanged  a  glance ;  it  was  tragic ;  not  otherwise 
might  two  philosophers  salute,  as  at  the  end  of  a  laborious 
life  each  recognized  that  he  was  still  a  mystery  to  his 
disciples. 

Leon  arose. 

"  Art  is  Art,"  he  repeated,  sadly.  "  It  is  not  water-color 
sketches,  nor  practising  on  a  piano.     It  is  a  life  to  be  lived." 

"  And  in  the  meantime  people  starve ! "  observed  the 
woman  of  the  house.     "  If  that's  a  life,  it  is  not  one  for  me." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what,"  burst  forth  Leon ;  "  you,  Madame, 
go  into  another  room  and  talk  it  over  with  my  wife ;  and 
I'll  stay  here  and  talk  it  over  with  your  husband.  It  may 
come  to  nothing,  but  let's  try." 

"  I  am  very  willing,"  replied  the  young  woman ;  and  she 
proceeded  to  light  a  candle.  "  This  way,  if  you  please." 
And  she  led  Elvira  upstairs  into  a  bedroom.  "  The  fact  is," 
said  she,  sitting  down,  "  that  my  husband  cannot  paint." 

"  No  more  can  mine  act,"  replied  Elvira. 

"  I  should  have  thought  he  could,"  returned  the  other ; 
"  he  seems  clever." 

"  He  is  so,  and  the  best  of  men  besides,"  said  Elvira ;  "  but 
he  cannot  act." 

"  At  least  he  is  not  a  sheer  humbug  like  mine ;  he  can  at 
least  sing." 

"  You  mistake  Leon,"  returned  his  wife,  warmly.  "  He 
does  not  even  pretend  to  sing;  he  has  too  fine  a  taste;  he 
does  so  for  a  living.  And,  believe  me,  neither  of  the  men  are 
humbugs.  They  are  people  with  a  mission — ^which  they 
cannot  carry  out." 

"  Humbug  or  not,"  replied  the  other,  "  you  came  very 
near  passing  the  night  in  the  fields ;  and,  for  my  part,  I 
live  in  terror  of  starvation.  I  should  think  it  was  a  man's 
mission  to  think  twice  about  his  wife.  But  it  appears  not. 
Nothing  is  their  mission  but  to  play  the  fool.  Oh !  "  she 
broke  out,  "  is  it  not  something  dreary  to  think  of  that  man 
of  mine.?  If  he  could  only  do  it,  who  would  care.'*  But  no — • 
not  he — ^no  more  than  I  can !  " 

*'  Have  you  any  children.''  "  asked  Elvira. 

S06 


PROVIDENCE    AND    THE    GUITAR 

"  No ;  but  then  I  may." 

"  Children  change  so  much,"  said  Elvira,  with  a  sigh. 

And  just  then  from  the  room  below  there  flew  up  a  sud- 
den snapping  cord  on  the  guitar;  one  followed  after  an- 
other; then  the  voice  of  Leon  joined  in;  and  there  was  an 
air  being  played  and  sung  that  stopped  the  speech  of  the 
two  women.  The  wife  of  the  painter  stood  like  a  person 
transfixed;  Elvira,  looking  into  her  eyes,  could  see  all  man- 
ner of  beautiful  memories  and  kind  thoughts  that  were  pass- 
ing in  and  out  of  her  soul  with  every  note ;  it  was  a  piece  of 
her  youth  that  went  before  her;  a  green  French  plain,  the 
smell  of  apple-flowers,  the  far  and  shining  ringlets  of  a 
river,  and  the  words  and  presence  of  love. 

"  Leon  has  hit  the  nail,"  thought  Elvira  to  herself,  "  I 
wonder  how." 

The  how  was  plain  enough.  Leon  had  asked  the  painter 
if  there  were  no  air  connected  with  courtship  and  pleasant 
times;  and  having  learned  what  he  wished,  and  allowed  an 
interval  to  pass,  he  had  soared  forth  into 

O  mon  amante, 

O  mon  desir 

Sachons    cueillir 
L'heure   charmante ! 

"  Pardon  me,  Madame,"  said  the  painter's  wife,  "  your 
husband  sings  admirably  well." 

"  He  sings  that  with  some  feeling,"  replied  Elvira, 
critically,  although  she  was  a  little  moved  herself,  for  the 
song  cut  both  ways  in  the  upper  chamber ;  "  but  it  is  as  an 
actor  and  not  as  a  musician." 

"Life  is  very  sad,"  said  the  other;  "it  so  wastes  away 
under  one's  fingers." 

"  I  have  not  found  it  so,"  replied  Elvira.  "  I  think  the 
good  parts  of  it  last  and  grow  greater  every  day." 

"Frankly,  how  would  you  advise  me?  " 

"  Frankly,  I  would  let  my  husband  do  what  he  wished.  He 
is  obviously  a  very  loving  painter;  you  have  not  yet  tried 
him  as  a  clerk.     And  you  know — if  it  were  only  as  the  pos- 

307 


l^^EW   ARABIAlSr   NIGHTS 

sible  father  of  your  children — it  is  as  well  to  keep  him  at  his 
best." 

"  He  is  an  excellent  fellow,"  said  the  wife. 

They  kept  it  up  till  sunrise  with  music  and  all  manner  of 
good-fellowship;  and  at  sunrise,  while  the  sky  was  still  tem- 
perate and  clear,  they  separated  on  the  threshold  with  a 
thousand  excellent  wishes  for  each  other's  welfare.  Castel- 
le-Gachis  was  beginning  to  send  up  its  smoke  against  the 
golden  east;  and  the  church  bell  was  ringing  six. 

"  My  guitar  is  a  familiar  spirit,"  said  Leon,  as  he  and 
Elvira  took  the  nearest  way  toward  the  inn ;  "  it  resuscitated 
a  Commissary,  created  an  English  tourist,  and  reconciled  a 
man  and  wife." 

Stubbs,  on  his  part,  went  off  into  the  morning  with  reflec- 
tions of  his  own. 

"  They  are  all  mad,"  thought  he,  "  all  mad — ^but  wonder- 
fully decent." 


308 


THE   DYNAIVIITEII 


EDITORIAL   NOTE 

The  Dynamiter  was  first  published  in  April,  1885,  by 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  and  its  success  was  immediate, 
being  reprinted  in  May  and  in  July.  An  American  edition 
also  appeared  in  May  of  that  same  year.  The  stories  in 
The  Dynamiter  or  More  New  Arabian  Nights  consist  chiefly 
of  those  composed  by  Mrs.  Stevenson  at  Hyeres  in  1883-84! 
to  while  away  the  hours  of  Stevenson's  illness  and  confine- 
ment in  a  darkened  room.  Upon  his  recovery  he  collabo- 
rated with  his  wife  to  get  the  material  into  shape,  wrote  the 
passages  relatmg  to  Prince  Florizel  and  also  one  complete 
story  of  his  o^\^l  invention.  Zeroes  Tale  of  the  Explosive 
Bomb.  Mrs.  Stevenson  was  entirely  responsible  for  the 
stories  The  Destroying  Angel  and  The  Fair  Cuban. 


TO 

ROBERT   ALAN    MOWBRAY    STEVENSON 

IN    GRATEFUL    REMEMBRANCE    OF    THEIR    YOUTH 
AND    THEIR    ALREADY    OLD    AFFECTION 


TO 

MESSRS.    COLE    AND    COX, 

POLICE    OFFICERS. 


GENTLEMEN, — In  the  volume  now  in  your  hands,  the 
authors  have  touched  upon  the  ugly  devil  of  crime,  with  which  it 
is  your  glory  to  have  contended.  It  were  a  waste  of  ink  to  do  so 
in  a  serious  spirit.  Let  us  dedicate  our  horror  to  acts  of  a  more 
mingled  strain,  where  crime  preserves  some  features  of  nobility, 
and  where  reason  and  humanity  can  still  relish  the  temptation. 
Horror,  in  this  ca^e,  is  due  to  Mr.  Parnell:  he  sits  before  pos' 
terity  silent,  Mr.  Foster's  appeal  echoing  down  the  ages.  Horror 
is  due  to  ourselves,  in  that  we  have  so  long  coquetted  with  political 
crime;  not  seriously  weighing,  not  acutely  following  it  from  cause 
to  consequence;  but  with  a  generous,  unfounded  heat  of  sentiment, 
like  the  schoolboy  with  the  penny  tale,  applauding  what  was  spe- 
cious. When  it  touched  ourselves  (truly  in  a  vile  shape)  we 
proved  false  to  these  imaginations;  discovered,  in  a  clap,  that 
crime  mas  no  less  cruel  and  no  less  ugly  under  sounding  names: 
and  recoiled  from  our  false  deities. 

But  seriousness  comes  most  in  place  when  we  are  to  speak  of  our 
defenders.  Whoever  be  in  the  right  in  this  great  and  confused 
war  of  politics;  whatever  elements  of  greed,  whatever  traits  of 
the  bully,  dishonor  both  parties  in  this  inhuman  contest; — your 
side,  your  part,  is  at  lea^t  pure  of  doubt.  Yours  is  the  side  of  the 
child,  of  the  breeding  woman,  of  individual  pity  and  public  trust. 
If  our  society  were  the  mere  kingdom  of  the  devil  {as  indeed  it 
wears  some  of  its  colors)  it  yet  embraces  many  preciou-9  elements 
315 


DEDICATIOlSr 

arid  many  Innocent  persons  whom  it  is  a  glory  to  defend.  Cour- 
age and  devotion,  so  common  in  the  ranks  of  the  police,  so  little 
recognized,  so  meagrely  rervarded,  have  at  length  found  their 
commemoration  in  an  historical  act.  History,  which  will  repre- 
sent Mr.  Parnell  sitting  silent  under  the  appeal  of  Mr.  Foster, 
and  Gordon  setting  forth  upon  his  tragic  enterprise,  will  not 
forget  Mr.  Cole  carrying  the  dynamite  in  Aw  defenceless  hands, 
nor  Mr.  Cox  coming  coolly  to  his  aid. 

ROBERT   LOUIS   STEVENSON. 

FANNY    VAN   DE    GRIFT   STEVENSON. 


AUTHOR'S   NOTE 

It  Is  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  you  may  take 
up  this  volume,  and  yet  be  unacquainted  with  its  predeces- 
sor ;  the  first  series  of  New  Arabian  Nights.  The  loss  is 
yours — and  mine ;  or  to  be  more  exact,  my  publisher's.  But 
if  you  are  thus  unlucky,  the  least  I  can  do  is  to  pass  you  a 
hint.  When  you  shall  find  a  reference  in  the  following  pages 
to  one  Theophilus  Godall  of  the  Bohemian  Cigar  Divan  in 
Rupert  Street,  Soho,  you  must  be  prepared  to  recognize, 
under  his  features,  no  less  a  person  than  Prince  Florizel  of 
Bohemia,  formerly  one  of  the  magnates  of  Europe,  now 
dethroned,  exiled,  impoverished,  and  embarked  in  the  tobacco 
trade. 

R.  L.  S. 


CONTENTS 

THE  DYNAMITER 

PAGE 

Prologue  of  the  Cigar  Divan 321 

Challoneu's  Adventure:  The  Squire  of  Dames 329 

Story  of  the  Destroying  Angel 338 

The  SauiRE  of  Daivies    {concluded) 370 

Somerset's   Adventure:   The   Superfluous   Mansion        ....  386 

Narrative  of  the  Spirited  Old  Lady 391 

The    Superfluous   Mansion    {continued) 417 

Zero's  Tale  of  the  Explosive  Bomb 443 

The  Superfluous  Mansion    {continued) 451 

Desborough's  Adventure:  The   Brown  Box 461 

Story  of  the  Fair  Cuban 468 

The   Brown   Box    {concluded) 503 

The   Superfluous  Mansion    {concluded) 514 

Epilogue  of  the  Cigar  Divan 523 


THE  DYNAJMITER 


PROLOGUE   OF   THE   CIGAB,  DIVAN 

IN  the  city  of  encounters,  the  Bagdad  of  the  West,  and, 
to  be  more  precise,  on  the  broad  northern  pavement  of 
Leicester  Square,  two  young  men  of  five-  or  six-and-tvrenty 
met  after  years  of  separation.  The  first,  who  was  of  a  very 
smooth  address  and  clothed  in  the  best  fashion,  hesitated  to 
recognize  the  pinched  and  shabby  air  of  his  companion. 

"  What !  "  he  cried,  "  Paul  Somerset?  " 

"  I  am  indeed  Paul  Somerset,"  returned  the  other,  "  or 
what  remains  of  him  after  a  well-deserved  experience  of 
poverty  and  law.  But  in  you,  Challoner,  I  can  perceive  no 
change;  and  time  may  be  said,  without  hyperbole,  to  write 
no  wrinkle  on  your  azure  brow." 

"  All,"  replied  Challoner,  "  is  not  gold  that  glitters.  But 
we  are  here  in  an  ill  posture  for  confidences,  and  interrupt 
the  movement  of  these  ladies.  Let  us,  if  you  please,  find  a 
more  private  corner." 

"  If  you  will  allow  me  to  guide  you,"  replied  Somerset, 
"  I  will  off'er  you  the  best  cigar  in  London." 

And  taking  the  arm  of  his  companion,  he  led  him  in  silence 
and  at  a  brisk  pace  to  the  door  of  a  quiet  establishment  in 
Rupert  Street,  Soho.  The  entrance  was  adorned  with  one 
of  those  gigantic  Highlanders  of  wood  which  have  almost 
risen  to  the  standing  of  antiquities ;  and  across  the  window- 
glass,  which  sheltered  the  usual  display  of  pipes,  tobacco, 
and  cigars,  there  ran  the  gilded  legend :  "  Bohemian  Cigar 
Divan,  by  T.  Godall."  The  interior  of  the  shop  was  small, 
but  commodious  and  ornate:  the  salesman  grave,  smiling, 
and  urbane ;  and  the  two  young  men,  each  puffing  a  select 

S21 


THE   DYNAMITER 

regalia,  had   soon  taken   their  places  on  a  sofa  of  mouse- 
colored  plush  and  proceeded  to  exchange  their  stories. 

"  I  am  now,"  said  Somerset,  "  a  barrister ;  but  Providence 
and  the  attorneys  have  hitherto  denied  me  the  opportunity  to 
shine.  A  select  society  at  the  Cheshire  Cheese  engaged  my 
evenings ;  my  afternoons,  as  Mr.  Godall  could  testify,  have 
been  generally  passed  in  this  divan;  and  my  mornings,  I 
have  taken  the  precaution  to  abbreviate  by  not  rising  before 
twelve.  At  this  rate,  my  little  patrimony  was  very  rapidly, 
and  I  am  proud  to  remember,  most  agreeably  expended. 
Since  then  a  gentleman,  who  has  really  nothing  else  to  rec- 
ommend him  beyond  the  fact  of  being  my  maternal  uncle, 
deals  me  the  small  sum  of  ten  shillings  a  week;  and  if  you 
behold  me  once  more  revisiting  the  glimpses  of  the  street 
lamps  in  my  favorite  quarter,  you  will  readily  divine  that  I 
have  come  into  a  fortune." 

"  I  should  not  have  supposed  so,"  replied  Challoner. 
"  But  doubtless  I  met  you  on  the  way  to  your  tailor's." 

"  It  is  a  visit  I  purpose  to  delay,"  returned  Somerset, 
with  a  smile.  "  My  fortune  has  definite  limits.  It  consists, 
or  rather  this  morning  it  consisted,  of  one  hundred  pounds." 

"  That  is  certainly  odd,"  said  Challoner ;  "  yes,  certainly 
the  coincidence  is  strange.  I  am  myself  reduced  to  the  same 
margin." 

"  You !  "  cried  Somerset.  "  And  yet  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory " 

"  Such  is  the  fact.  I  am,  dear  boy,  on  my  last  legs," 
said  Challoner.  "  Besides  the  clothes  in  which  you  see  me, 
I  have  scarcely  a  decent  trouser  in  my  wardrobe;  and  if  I 
knew  how,  I  would  this  instant  set  about  some  sort  of  work 
or  commerce.  With  a  hundred  pounds  for  capital,  a  man 
should  push  his  way." 

"  It  may  be,"  returned  Somerset ;  *'  but  what  to  do  with 
mine  is  more  than  I  can  fancy.  Mr.  Godall,"  he  added,  ad- 
dressing the  salesman,  "  you  are  a  man  who  knows  the 
world:  what  can  a  young  fellow  of  reasonable  education  do 
with  a  hundred  pounds?  " 

"  It    depends,"    replied    the    salesman,    withdrawing   his 

322 


PROLOGUE 

cheroot.  "  The  power  of  money  is  an  article  of  faith  in 
which  I  profess  myself  a  skeptic.  A  hundred  pounds  will 
with  difficulty  support  you  for  a  year;  with  somewhat  more 
difficulty  you  may  spend  it  in  a  night ;  and  without  any  dif- 
ficulty at  all  you  may  lose  it  in  five  minutes  on  the  Stock 
Exchange.  If  you  are  of  that  stamp  of  man  that  rises,  a 
penny  would  be  as  useful;  if  you  belong  to  those  that  fall, 
a  penny  would  be  no  more  useless.  When  I  was  myself 
thrown  unexpectedly  upon  the  world,  it  was  my  fortune  to 
possess  an  art :  I  knew  a  good  cigar.  Do  you  know  nothing, 
Mr.  Somerset.?  " 

"  Not  even  law,"  was  the  reply. 

"  The  answer  is  worthy  of  a  sage,"  returned  Mr.  Godall. 
"  And  you,  sir,"  he  continued,  turning  to  Challoner,  "  as 
the  friend  of  Mr.  Somerset,  may  I  be  allowed  to  address  you 
the  same  question  ?  " 

"  Well,"  replied  Challoner,  "  I  play  a  fair  hand  at  whist." 

*'  How  many  persons  are  there  in  London,"  returned  the 
salesman,  "  who  have  two-and-thirty  teeth  ?  Believe  me, 
young  gentleman,  there  are  more  still  who  play  a  fair  hand 
at  whist.  Whist,  sir,  is  wide  as  the  world;  'tis  an  accom- 
plishment Hke  breathing.  I  once  knew  a  youth  who  an- 
nounced, that  he  was  studying  to  be  Chancelloi  of  England; 
the  design  was  certainly  ambitious ;  but  I  find  it  less  exces- 
sive than  that  of  the  man  who  aspires  to  make  a  livelihood 
by  whist." 

"  Dear  me,"  said  Challoner,  "  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to 
fall  to  be  a  working  man." 

"  Fall  to  be  a  working  man?  "  echoed  Mr.  Godall.  "  Sup- 
pose a  rural  dean  to  be  unfrocked,  does  he  fall  to  be  a  major? 
Suppose  a  captain  were  cashiered,  would  he  fall  to  be  a 
puisne  judge?  The  ignorance  of  your  middle  class  surprises 
me.  Outside  itself,  it  thinks  the  world  to  lie  quite  ignorant 
and  equal,  sunk  in  a  common  degradation ;  but  to  the  eye 
of  the  observer,  all  ranks  are  seen  to  stand  in  ordered 
hierarchies,  and  each  adorned  with  its  particular  aptitudes 
and  knowledge.  By  the  defects  of  your  education  you  are 
more  disqualified  to  be  a  working  man  than  to  be  the  ruler 

S23 


THE  DYNAMITER 

of  an  empire.  The  gulf,  sir,  is  below;  and  the  true  learned 
arts — those  which  alone  are  safe  from  the  competition  of 
insurgent  laymen — are  those  which  give  his  title  to  the 
artisan." 

*'  This  is  a  very  pompous  fellow,"  said  Challoner  in  the 
ear  of  his  companion. 

"  He  is  immense,"  said  Somerset. 

Just  then  the  door  of  the  divan  opened,  and  a  third 
young  fellow  made  his  appearance,  and  rather  bashfully 
requested  some  tobacco.  He  was  younger  than  the  others; 
and,  in  a  somewhat  meaningless  and  altogether  English  way, 
he  was  a  handsome  lad.  When  he  had  been  served,  and  had 
lighted  his  pipe  and  taken  his  place  upon  the  sofa,  he  re- 
called himself  to  Challoner  by  the  name  of  Desborough. 

**  Desborough,  to  be  sure,"  cried  Challoner.  **  Well, 
Desborough,  and  what  do  you  do?" 

"  The  fact  is,"  said  Desborough,  **  that  I  am  doing 
nothing." 

**  A  private  fortune  possibly?  "  inquired  the  other. 

**  Well,  no,"  replied  Desborough,  rather  sulkily.  "  The 
fact  is  that  I  am  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up." 

"  All  in  the  same  boat !  "  cried  Somerset.  "  And  have 
you,  too,  one  hundred  pounds?  " 

"  Worse  luck,"  said  Mr.  Desborough. 

"  This  is  a  very  pathetic  sight,  Mr.  Godall,"  said  Somer- 
set :  "  Three  futiles." 

"  A  character  of  this  crowded  age,""  returned  the  sales- 
man, 

"  Sir,"  said  Somerset,  "  I  deny  that  the  age  is  crowded ; 
I  will  admit  one  fact,  and  that  one  fact  only:  that  I  am 
futile,  that  he  is  futile,  and  that  we  are  all  three  as  futile  as 
the  devil.  What  am  I?  I  have  smattered  law,  smattered 
letters,  smattered  geography,  smattered  mathematics ;  I 
have  even  a  working  knowledge  of  judicial  astrology;  and 
here  I  stand,  all  London  roaring  by  at  the  street's  end,  as 
impotent  as  any  baby.  I  have  a  prodigious  contempt  for 
my  matt^rnal  uncle ;  but  without  him,  it  is  idle  to  deny  it,  1 
should  simply  resolve  into  my  elements  like  an  unstable  mix- 


PROLOGUE 

ture.  T  begin  to  perceive  tliat  it  is  necessary  to  Itnow  some 
one  thing  to  the  bottom — were  it  only  literature.  And  yet. 
sir,  the  man  of  the  world  is  a  great  feature  of  this  age ;  he 
is  possessed  of  an  extraordinary  mass  and  variety  of  knowl- 
edge ;  he  is  everywhere  at  home ;  he  has  seen  life  in  all  its 
phases ;  and  it  is  impossible  but  that  this  great  habit  of 
existence  should  bear  fruit.  I  count  myself  a  man  of  the 
world,  accomplished,  cap-a-pie.  So  do  you,  Challoner. 
And  you,  Mr.  Desborough.'^  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  returned  the  young  man. 

"  Well,  then,  Mr.  Godall,  here  we  stand,  three  men  of  the 
world,  without  a  trade  to  cover  us,  but  planted  at  the 
strategic  centre  of  the  universe  (for  so  you  will  allow  me 
to  call  Rupert  Street),  in  the  midst  of  the  chief  mass  of 
people,  and  within  ear-shot  of  the  most  continuous  chink  of 
money  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  Sir,  as  civilized  men, 
what  do  we  do.?     I  will  show  you.     You  take  in  a  paper?" 

"  I  take,'*  said  Mr.  Godall,  solemnly,  "  the  best  paper  in 
the  world,  the  Standard" 

"  Good,"  resumed  Somerset.  "  I  now  hold  it  in  my  hand, 
the  voice  of  the  world,  a  telephone  repeating  all  men's  wants. 
I  open  it,  and  where  my  eye  first  falls — well,  no,  not  Mor- 
rison's Pills — but  here,  sure  enough,  and  but  a  little  above, 
I  find  the  joint  that  I  was  seeking;  here  is  the  weak  spot  in 
the  armor  of  society.  Here  is  a  want,  a  plaint,  an  offer  of 
substantial  gratitude:  'Two  Hundred  Pounds  Reward. — 
The  above  reward  will  be  paid  to  any  person  giving  informa- 
tion as  to  the  identity  and  whereabouts  of  a  man  observed 
yesterday  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Green  Park.  He  was 
over  six  feet  in  height,  with  shoulders  disproportionately 
broad,  close  shaved,  with  black  mustaches,  and  wearing  a 
sealskin  great  coat.'  There,  gentlemen,  our  fortune,  if  not 
made,  is  founded." 

"  Do  you  then  propose,  dear  boy,  that  we  should  turn 
detectives  ?  "  inquired  Challoner. 

"  Do  I  propose  it.?^  No,  sir,"  cried  Somerset.  "  It  is 
reason,  destiny,  the  plain  face  of  the  world,  that  commands 
and  imposes  it.    Here  all  our  merits  tell ;  our  manners,  habit 

S25 


THE   DYNAMITER 

of  the  world,  powers  of  conversation,  vast  stores  of  un- 
connected knowledge,  all  that  we  are  and  have  builds  up  the 
character  of  the  complete  detective.  It  is,  in  short,  the  only 
profession  for  a  gentleman." 

"  The  proposition  is  perhaps  excessive,"  said  Challoner ; 
**  for  hitherto  I  own  I  have  regarded  it  as  of  all  dirty, 
sneaking  and  ungentlemanly  trades,  the  least  and  lowest." 

"To  defend  society?"  asked  Somerset;  "to  stake  one's 
life  for  others?  to  deracinate  occult  and  powerful  evil?  I 
appeal  to  Mr.  Godall.  He,  at  least,  as  a  philosophic  looker- 
on  at  life,  will  spit  upon  such  philistine  opinions.  He  knows 
that  the  policeman,  as  he  is  called  upon  continually  to  face 
greater  odds,  and  that  both  worse  equipped  and  for  a  better 
cause,  is  in  form  and  essence  a  more  noble  hero  than  the 
soldier.  Do  you,  by  any  chance,  deceive  yourself,  by  sup- 
posing that  a  general  would  either  ask  or  expect,  from  the 
best  army  ever  marshalled,  and  on  the  most  momentous  battle- 
field, the  conduct  of  a  common  constable  at  Peckham  Rye."  ^ 

"  I  did  not  understand  we  were  to  join  the  force,"  said 
Challoner. 

"  Nor  shall  we.  These  are  the  hands ;  but  here — ^here, 
sir,  is  the  head,"  cried  Somerset.  "Enough;  it  is  decreed. 
We  shall  hunt  down  this  miscreant  in  the  sealskin  coat." 

"  Suppose  that  we  agreed,"  retorted  Challoner,  "  you 
have  no  plan,  no  knowledge;  you  know  not  where  to  seek 
for  a  beginning." 

"  Challoner ! "  cried  Somerset,  "  is  it  possible  that  you 
hold  the  doctrine  of  Free  Will?  And  are  you  devoid  of  any 
tincture  of  philosophy,  that  you  should  harp  on  such  ex- 
ploded fallacies?  Chance,  the  blind  Madonna  of  the  pagan, 
rules  this  terrestrial  bustle;  and  in  Chance  I  place  my  sole 

1  Hereupon  the  Arabian  author  enters  on  one  of  his  digressions. 
Fearing,  apparently,  that  the  somewhat  eccentric  views  of  Mr.  Somer- 
set should  throw  discredit  on  a  part  of  truth,  he  calls  upon  the  English 
People  to  remember  with  more  gratitude  the  services  of  the  police; 
to  what  unobserved  and  solitary  acts  of  heroism  they  are  called; 
against  what  odds  of  niunbers  and  of  arms,  and  for  how  small  a 
reward,  either  in  fame  or  money;  matter,  it  has  appeared  to  the  trans- 
lators, too  serious  for  this  place. 


PROLOGUE 

reliance.  Chance  has  brought  us  three  together;  when  we 
next  separate  and  go  forth  our  several  ways,  Chance  will 
continually  drag  before  our  careless  eyes  a  thousand  eloquent 
clues,  not  to  this  mystery  only,  but  to  the  countless  mysteries 
by  which  we  live  surrounded.  Then  comes  the  part  of  the 
man  of  the  world,  of  the  detective  born  and  bred.  This 
clue,  which  the  whole  town  beholds  without  comprehension, 
swift  as  a  cat,  he  leaps  upon  it,  makes  it  his,  follows  it  with 
craft  and  passion,  and  from  one  trifling  circumstance  divines 
a  world." 

"  Just  so,"  said  Challoner ;  "  and  I  am  delighted  that  you 
should  recognize  these  virtues  in  yourself.  But  in  the  mean- 
while, dear  boy,  I  own  myself  incapable  of  joining.  I  was 
neither  bom  nor  bred  as  a  detective,  but  as  a  placable  and 
very  thirsty  gentleman ;  and,  for  my  part,  I  begin  to  weary 
for  a  drink.  As  for  clues  and  adventures,  the  only  adven- 
ture that  is  ever  likely  to  occur  to  me  will  be  an  adventure 
with  a  bailiff." 

"  Now  there  is  the  fallacy,"  cried  Somerset.  "  There  I 
catch  the  secret  of  your  futihty  in  life.  The  world  teems 
and  bubbles  with  adventure;  it  besieges  you  along  the  street: 
hands  waving  out  of  windows,  swindlers  coming  up  and 
swearing  they  knew  you  when  you  were  abroad,  affable  and 
doubtful  people  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  begging  and 
truckling  for  your  notice.  But  not  you:  you  turn  away, 
you  walk  your  seedy  mill  round,  you  must  go  the  dullest 
way.  Now  here,  I  beg  of  youj  the  next  adventure  that  offers 
itself,  embrace  it  in  with  both  your  arms ;  whatever  it  looks, 
grimy  or  romantic,  grasp  it.  I  will  do  the  like ;  the  devil  is 
in  it,  but  at  least  we  shall  have  fun ;  and  each  in  turn  we 
shall  narrate  the  story  of  our  fortunes  to  my  philosophic 
friend  of  the  divan,  the  great  Godall,  now  hearing  me  with 
inward  joy.  Come,  is  it  a  bargain.?  Will  you,  indeed,  both 
promise  to  welcome  every  chance  that  offers,  to  plunge  boldly 
into  every  opening,  and,  keeping  the  eye  wary  and  the  head 
composed,  to  study  and  piece  together  all  that  happens? 
Come,  promise:  let  me  open  to  you  the  doors  of  the  great 
profession  of  intrigue." 

S27 


THE   DYNAJVIITER 

"  It  is  not  mucli  in  my  way,"  said  Challoner,  "  but,  since 
you  make  a  point  of  it,  amen." 

*'  I  don't  mind  promising,"  said  Desborough,  "  but  noth- 
ing will  happen  to  me." 

"  O  faithless  ones !  "  cried  Somerset.  "  But  at  least  I 
have  your  promises ;  and  Godall,  I  perceive,  is  transported 
with  delight." 

*'  I  promise  myself  at  least  much  pleasure  from  your 
various  narratives,"  said  the  salesman,  with  the  customary 
calm  polish  of  his  manner. 

"  And  now,  gentleman,"  concluded  Somerset,  "  let  us 
separate.  I  hasten  to  put  myself  in  fortune's  way.  Hark 
how,  in  this  quiet  corner,  London  roars  hke  the  noise  of  bat- 
tle; four  million  destinies  are  here  concentered;  and  in  the 
strong  panoply  of  one  hundred  pounds,  payable  to  the 
bearer,  I  am  about  to  plunge  into  that  web." 


S28 


CHALLONER  S    ADVENTURE !    THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

MR.  EDWARD  CHALLONER  had  set  up  lodgings  in 
the  suburb  of  Putney,  where  he  enjoyed  a  parlor  and 
bed-room  and  the  sincere  esteem  of  the  people  of  the  house. 
To  this  remote  home  he  found  himself  at  a  very  early  hour 
in  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  condemned  to  set  forth  on 
foot.  He  was  a  young  man  of  portly  habit ;  no  lover  of  the 
exercises  of  the  body;  bland,  sedentary,  patient  of  delay,  a 
prop  of  omnibuses.  In  happier  days  he  would  have  char- 
tered a  cab;  but  these  luxuries  were  now  denied  him;  and 
with  what  courage  he  could  muster  he  addressed  himself  to 
walk. 

It  was  then  the  height  of  the  season  and  the  summer;  the 
weather  was  serene  and  cloudless ;  and  as  he  paced  under  the 
blinded  houses  and  along  the  vacant  streets,  the  chill  of 
the  dawn  had  fled,  and  some  of  the  warmth  and  all  the  bright- 
ness of  the  July  day  already  shone  upon  the  city.  He 
walked  at  first  in  a  profound  abstraction,  bitterly  reviewing 
and  repenting  his  performance  at  whist ;  but  as  he  advanced 
into  the  labyrinth  of  the  south-west,  his  ear  was  gradually 
mastered  by  the  silence.  Street  after  street  looked  down 
upon  his  solitary  figure,  house  after  house  echoed  upon  his 
passage  with  a  ghostly  jar,  shop  after  shop  displayed  its 
shuttered  front  and  its  commercial  legend;  and  meanwhile 
he  steered  his  course,  under  day's  effulgent  dome  and 
through  this  encampment  of  diurnal  sleepers,  lonely  as  a 
ship. 

"  Here,"  he  reflected,  "  if  I  were  like  my  scatter-brained 
companion,  here  were  indeed  the  scene  where  I  might  look 
for  an  adventure.  Here,  in  broad  day,  the  streets  are  secret 
as  in  the  blackest  night  of  January,  and  in  the  midst  of  some 
four  million  sleepers,  solitary  as  the  woods  of  Yucatan.  If 
X  but  raise  my  voice  I  could  summon  up  the  number  of  an 

829 


THE   DYNAMITER 

army,  and  yet  the  grave  is  not  more  silent  than  this  city  of 
sleep." 

He  was  still  following  these  quaint  and  serious  musings 
when  he  came  into  a  street  of  more  mingled  ingredients  than 
was  common  in  the  quarter.  Here,  on  the  one  hand,  framed 
in  the  walls  and  the  green  tops  of  trees,  were  several  of  those 
discreet,  bijou  residences  on  which  propriety  is  apt  to  look 
askance.  Here,  too,  were  many  of  the  brick-fronted  bar- 
racks of  the  poor ;  a  plaster  cow,  perhaps,  serving  as  ensign 
to  a  dairy,  or  a  ticket  announcing  the  business  of  the 
mangier.  Before  one  such  house,  that  stood  a  little  separate 
among  walled  gardens,  a  cat  was  playing  with  a  straw,  and 
Challoner  paused  a  moment,  looking  on  this  sleek  and  sol- 
itary creature,  who  seemed  an  emblem  of  the  neighboring 
peace.  With  the  cessation  of  the  sound  of  his  own  steps  the 
silence  fell  dead ;  the  house  stood  smokeless :  the  blinds  down, 
the  whole  machinery  of  life  arrested;  and  it  seemed  to  Chal- 
loner that  he  should  hear  the  breathing  of  the  sleepers. 

As  he  so  stood,  he  was  startled  by  a  dull  and  jarring 
detonation  from  within.  This  was  followed  by  a  monstrous 
hissing  and  simmering  as  from  a  kettle  of  the  bigness  of  St. 
Paul's ;  and  at  the  same  time  from  every  chink  of  door  and 
window  spirted  an  ill-smelling  vapor.  The  cat  disappeared 
with  a  cry.  Within  the  lodging  house  feet  pounded  on  the 
stairs;  the  door  flew  back  emitting  clouds  of  smoke;  and 
two  men  and  an  elegantly  dressed  young  lady  tumbled  forth 
into  the  street  and  fled  without  a  word.  The  hissing  had 
already  ceased,  the  smoke  was  melting  in  the  air,  the  whole 
event  had  come  and  gone  as  in  a  dream,  and  still  Challoner 
was  rooted  to  the  spot.  At  last  his  reason  and  his  fear  awoke 
together,  and  with  the  most  unwonted  energy  he  fell  to 
running. 

Little  by  little  this  first  dash  relaxed,  and  presently  he 
had  resumed  his  sober  gait  and  begun  to  piece  together,  out 
of  the  confused  report  of  his  senses,  some  theory  of  the 
occurrence.  But  the  occasion  of  the  sounds  and  stench  that 
had  so  suddenly  assailed  him,  and  the  strange  conjunction 
of  fugitives  whom  he  had  seen  to  issue  from  the  house,  wer€ 

3B0 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

mysteries  beyond  his  plummet.  With  an  obscure  awe  he 
considered  them  in  his  mind,  continuing,  meanwhile,  to 
thread  the  web  of  streets,  and  once  more  alone  in  morning 
sunshine. 

In  his  first  retreat  he  had  entirely  wandered;  and  now, 
steering-  vaguely  west,  it  was  his  luck  to  light  upon  an  unpre- 
tending street,  which  presently  widened  so  as  to  admit  a 
strip  of  gardens  in  the  midst.  Here  was  quite  a  stir  of 
birds ;  even  at  that  hour,  the  shadow  of  the  leaves  was  grate- 
ful ;  instead  of  the  burned  atmosphere  of  cities,  there  was 
something  brisk  and  rural  in  the  air;  and  Challoner  paced 
forward,  his  eyes  upon  the  pavement  and  his  mind  running 
upon  distant  scenes,  till  he  was  recalled,  upon  a  sudden,  by 
a  wall  that  blocked  his  further  progress.  This  street,  whose 
name  I  have  forgotten,  is  no  thoroughfare. 

He  was  not  the  first  who  had  wandered  there  that  morn- 
ing; for  as  he  raised  his  eyes  with  an  agreeable  delibera- 
tion, they  alighted  on  the  figure  of  a  girl,  in  whom  he  was 
struck  to  recognize  the  third  of  the  incongruous  fugitives. 
She  had  run  there,  seemingly,  blindfold ;  the  wall  had 
checked  her  career,  and  being  entirely  wearied,  she  had  sunk 
upon  the  ground  beside  the  garden  railings,  soiling  her  dress 
among  the  summer  dust.  Each  saw  the  other  in  the  same 
instant  of  time;  and  she,  with  one  wild  look,  sprang  to  her 
feet  and  began  to  hurry  from  the  scene. 

Challoner  was  doubly  startled  to  meet  once  more  the 
heroine  of  his  adventure  and  to  observe  the  fear  with  which 
she  shunned  him.  Pity  and  alarm,  in  nearly  equal  forces, 
contested  the  possession  of  his  mind,  and  yet,  in  spite  of 
both,  he  saw  himself  condemned  to  follow  In  the  lady's  wake. 
He  did  so  gingerly,  as  fearing  to  Increase  her  terrors ;  but 
tread  as  lightly  as  he  might  his  footfalls  eloquently  echoed 
in  the  empty  street.  Their  sound  appeared  to  strike  In  her 
some  strong  emotion,  for  scarce  had  he  begun  to  follow  ere 
she  paused.  A  second  time  she  addressed  herself  to  flight, 
find  a  second  time  she  paused.  Then  she  turned  about,  and 
with  doubtful  steps  and  the  most  attractive  appearance  of 
timidity,  drew  near  to  the  young  man.    He  on  his  side  con- 

331 


THE   DYNAMITER 

tinued  to  advance  with  similar  signals  of  distress  and  bash- 
fulness.  At  length,  when  they  were  but  some  steps  apart, 
he  saw  her  eyes  brim  over,  and  she  reached  out  both  her 
hands  in  eloquent  appeal. 

"Are  you  an  English  gentleman?"  she  cried. 

The  unhappy  Challoner  regarded  her  with  consternation. 
He  was  the  spirit  of  fine  courtesy,  and  would  have  blushed 
to  fail  in  his  devoirs  to  any  lady ;  but,  in  the  other  scale,  he 
was  a  man  averse  from  amorous  adventures.  He  looked  east 
and  west,  but  the  houses  that  looked  down  upon  this  interview 
remained  inexorably  shut,  and  he  saw  himself,  though  in  the 
full  glare  of  the  day's  eye,  cut  off  from  any  human  interven- 
tion. His  looks  returned  at  last  upon  the  suppliant.  He 
remarked  with  irritation  that  she  was  charming  both  in  face 
and  figure,  elegantly  dressed  and  gloved :  a  lady  undeniable ; 
the  picture  of  distress  and  innocence;  weeping  and  lost  in 
the  city  of  diurnal  sleep. 

"  Madam,"*  he  said,  "  I  protest  you  have  no  cause  to  fear 
intrusion,  and  if  I  have  appeared  to  follow  you,  the  fault  is 
in  this  street,  which  has  deceived  us  both." 

An  unmistakable  relief  appeared  upon  the  lady's  face. 
"  I  might  have  guessed  it !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Thank  you  a 
thousand  times !  But  at  this  hour,  in  this  appalling  silence, 
and  among  all  these  staring  windows,  I  am  lost  in  terrors — - 
oh,  lost  in  them ; "  she  cried,  her  face  blanching  at  the 
words.  "  I  beg  you  to  lend  me  your  arm,"  she  added  with 
the  loveliest,  suppliant  inflection.  "  I  dare  not  go  alone ; 
my  nerve  is  gone — I  had  a  shock,  oh,  what  a  shock!  I  beg 
of  you  to  be  my  escort." 

"  My  dear  madam,"  responded  Challoner,  heavily,  "  my 
arm  is  at  your  service." 

She  took  it  and  clung  to  it  for  a  moment,  struggling  with 
her  sobs,  and  the"  next,  with  feverish  hurry,  began  to  lead 
him  in  the  direction  of  the  city.  One  thing  was  plain, 
among  so  much  that  was  obscure:  it  was  plain  her  fears 
were  genuine.  Still,  as  she  went,  she  spied  around  as  if  for 
dangers,  and  now  she  would  shiver  like  a  person  in  a  chill 
and  now  clutch  his  arm  in  hers.     To  Challoner  her  terror 

SS2 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

was  at  once  repugnant  and  Infectious ;  it  gained  and  mas- 
tered, while  it  still  offended  him,  and  he  wailed  in  spirit  and 
longed  for  release. 

"  Madam,"  he  said  at  last,  "  I  am,  of  course,  charmed 
to  be  of  use  to  any  lady,  but  I  confess  I  was  bound  in  a 
direction  opposite  to  that  you  follow,  and  a  word  of  ex- 
planation— ' — ^" 

"  Hush !  "  she  sobbed,  "  not  here — not  here." 

The  blood  of  Challoncr  ran  cold.  He  might  have  thought 
the  lady  mad,  but  his  memory  was  charged  with  more 
perilous  stuff,  and  In  view  of  the  detonation,  the  smoke  and 
the  flight  of  the  ill  assorted  trio,  his  mind  was  lost  among 
mysteries.  So  they  continued  to  thread  the  maze  of  streets 
in  silence  M'lth  the  speed  of  a  guilty  flight,  and  both  thrill- 
ing with  incommunicable  terrors.  In  time,  however,  and 
above  all  by  their  quick  pace  of  walking,  the  pair  began  to 
rise  to  firmer  spirits ;  the  lady  ceased  to  peer  about  the 
corners ;  and  Challoner,  emboldened  by  the  resonant  tread 
and  distant  figure  of  a  constable,  returned  to  the  charge 
with  more  of  spirit  and  directness. 

"  I  thought,"  said  he,  in  the  tone  of  conversation,  "  that 
I  had  indistinctly  perceived  you  leaving  a  villa  in  the  com- 
pany of  two  gentlemen." 

"  Oh !  "  she  said,  "  you  need  not  fear  to  wound  me  by 
the  truth.  You  saw  me  flee  from  a  common  lodging-house, 
and  my  companions  were  not  gentlemen.  In  such  a  case,  the 
best  of  compliments  is  to  be  frank." 

"  I  thought,"  resumed  Challoner,  encouraged  as  much 
as  he  was  surprised  by  the  spirit  of  her  reply,  "  to  have 
perceived,  besides,  a  certain  odor.  A  noise,  too — I  do  not 
know  to  what  I  should  compare  it ^" 

"  Silence ! "  she  cried.  "  You  do  not  know  the  danger 
you  Invoke.  Wait,  only  wait ;  and  as  soon  as  we  have  left 
these  streets  and  got  beyond  the  reach  of  listeners,  all  shall 
be  explained.  Meanwhile,  avoid  the  topic.  What  a  sight  is 
this  sleeping  city !  "  she  exclaimed ;  and  then,  with  a  most 
thrilling  voice,  "  '  Dear  God,'  she  quoted,  "  *  the  very  houses 
seem  asleep.     And  all  that  mighty  heart  is  lying  still.'  " 

333 


THE   DYNAMITER 

*'  I  perceive,  madam,"  said  he,  "  you  are  a  reader." 

*'  I  am  more  than  that,"  she  answered,  with  a  sigh.  **  I 
am  a  girl  condemned  to  thoughts  beyond  her  age ;  and  so 
untoward  is  my  fate,  that  this  walk  upon  the  arm  of  a 
stranger  is  like  an  interlude  of  peace." 

They  had  come  by  this  time  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Victoria  Station ;  and  here,  at  a  street  corner,  the  young 
lady  paused,  withdrew  her  arm  from  Challoner's  and  looked 
up  and  down  as  though  in  pain  or  indecision.  Then,  with  a 
lovely  change  of  countenance,  anl  laying  her  gloved  hand 
upon  his  arm: 

"  What  you  already  think  of  me,"  she  said,  "  I  tremble 
to  conceive;  yet  I  must  here  condemn  myself  still  further. 
Here  I  must  leave  you,  and  here  I  beseech  you  to  wait  for 
my  return.  Do  not  attempt  to  follow  me  or  spy  upon  my 
actions.  Suspend  yet  awhile  your  judgment  of  a  girl  as 
innocent  as  your  own  sister ;  and  do  not  above  all,  desert  me. 
Stranger  as  you  are,  I  have  none  else  to  look  to.  You  see 
me  in  sorrow  and  great  fear ;  you  are  a  gentleman,  courteous 
and  kind ;  and  when  I  beg  for  a  few  minutes'  patience,  I 
make  sure  beforehand  you  will  not  deny  me." 

Challoner  grudgingly  promised ;  and  the  young  lady, 
with  a  grateful  eye-shot,  vanished  round  the  comer.  But 
the  force  of  her  appeal  had  been  a  httle  blunted;  for  the 
young  man  was  not  only  destitute  of  sisters,  but  of  any 
female  relative  nearer  than  a  great-aunt  in  Wales.  Now 
he  was  alone;  besides,  the  spell  that  he  had  hitherto  obeyed 
began  to  weaken  ;  he  considered  his  behavior  with  a  sneer ;  and 
plucking  up  the  spirit  of  revolt,  he  started  in  pursuit.  The 
reader,  if  he  has  ever  plied  the  fascinating  trade  of  the 
noctambulist,  will  not  be  unaware  that,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  great  railway  centres,  certain  early  taverns  inaugu- 
rate the  business  of  the  day.  It  was  into  one  of  these  Chal- 
loner, coming  round  the  comer  of  the  block,  beheld  his 
charming  companion  disappear.  To  say  he  was  surprised 
were  inexact,  for  he  had  long  since  left  that  sentiment  behind 
him.  Acute  disgust  and  disappointment  seized  upon  his 
Boul;  and  with  silent  oaths,  he  damned  this  commonplace 

334 


THE    SQUIRE    OF   DAMES 

enchantress.  She  had  scarce  been  gone  a  second,  ere  the 
swing-doors  reopened,  and  she  appeared  again  in  company 
with  a  young  man  of  mean  and  slouching  attire.  For  some 
five  or  six  exchanges  they  conversed  together  with  an  ani- 
mated air :  then  the  fellow  shouldered  again  into  the  tap ; 
and  the  young  lady,  with  something  swifter  than  a  walk, 
retraced  her  steps  towards  Challoner.  He  saw  her  coming, 
a  miracle  of  grace ;  her  ankle,  as  she  hurried,  flashing  from 
her  dress ;  her  movements  eloquent  of  speed  and  youth ;  and 
though  he  still  entertained  some  thoughts  of  flight,  they 
grew  miserably  fainter  as  the  distance  lessened.  Against 
mere  beauty  he  was  proof:  it  was  her  unmistakable  gentility 
that  now  robbed  him  of  the  courage  of  his  cowardice.  With 
a  proved  adventuress  he  had  acted  strictly  on  his  right ; 
with  one  who,  in  spite  of  all,  he  could  not  quite  deny  to  be 
a  lady,  he  found  himself  disarmed.  At  the  very  corner  from 
whence  he  had  spied  upon  her  interview,  she  came  upon  him, 
still  transfixed,  and — "  Ah !  "  she  cried,  with  a  bright  flush 
of  color.     "  Ah !   Ungenerous  !  " 

The  sharpness  of  the  attack  somewhat  restored  the  Squire 
of  Dames  to  the  possession  of  himself. 

"  Madam,"  he  returned,  with  a  fair  show  of  stoutness, 
"  I  do  not  think  that  hitherto  you  can  complain  of  any  lack 
of  generosity ;  I  have  suff^ered  myself  to  be  led  over  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  metropolis ;  and  if  I  now  request  you 
to  discharge  me  of  my  office  of  protector,  you  have  friends 
at  hand  who  will  be  glad  of  the  succession." 

She  stood  .a  moment  dumb. 

"  It  is  well,"  she  said.  "  Go !  go,  and  may  God  help  me ! 
You  have  seen  me — me,  an  innocent  girl !  fleeing  from  a  dire 
catastrophe  and  haunted  by  sinister  men ;  and  neither  pity, 
curiosity,  nor  honor  move  you  to  await  my  explanation  or 
to  help  me  in  my  distress.  Go !  "  she  repeated.  "  I  am  lost 
indeed."  And  with  a  passionate  gesture  she  turned  and  fled 
along  the  street. 

Challoner  observed  her  retreat  and  disappear,  an  almost 
intolerable  sense  of  guilt  contending  with  the  profound  sense 
that  he  was  being  gulled.     She  was  no  sooner  gone  than  the 

335 


THE   DYNA31ITER 

first  of  these  feelings  took  the  upper  hand;  he  felt,  if  he 
had  done  her  less  than  justice,  that  his  conduct  was  a  per- 
fect model  of  the  ungracious ;  the  cultured  tone  of  her  voice, 
her  choice  of  language,  and  the  elegant  decorum  of  her 
movements  cried  out  aloud  against  a  harsh  construction; 
and  between  penitence  and  curiosity  he  began  slowly  to  fol- 
low in  her  wake.  At  the  corner  he  had  her  once  more  full 
in  view.  Her  speed  was  failing  like  a  stricken  bird's.  Even 
as  he  looked,  she  threw  her  arm  out  gropingly,  and  fell 
and  leaned  against  the  wall.  At  the  spectacle,  Challoner's 
fortitude  gave  way.  In  a  few  strides  he  overtook  her  and, 
for  the  first  time  removing  his  hat,  assured  her  in  the  most 
moving  terms  of  his  entire  respect  and  firm  desire  to  help 
her.  He  spoke  at  first  unheeded ;  but  gradually  it  appeared 
that  she  began  to  comprehend  his  words ;  she  moved  a  little, 
and  drew  herself  upright ;  and  finally,  as  with  a  sudden 
movement  of  forgiveness,  turned  on  the  young  man  a  coun- 
tenance in  which  reproach  and  gratitude  were  mingled. 
"  Ah,  madam,"  he  cried,  "  use  me  as  you  will ! "  And  once 
more,  but  now  with  a  great  air  of  deference,  he  offered  her 
the  conduct  of  his  arm.  She  took  it  with  a  sigh  that  struck 
him  to  the  heart;  and  they  began  once  more  to  trace  the 
deserted  streets.  But  now  her  steps,  as  though  exhausted 
by  emotion,  began  to  linger  on  the  way ;  she  leaned  the  more 
heavily  upon  his  arm ;  and  he,  like  the  parent  bi^rd,  stooped 
fondly  above  his  drooping  convoy.  Her  physical  distress 
was  not  accompanied  by  any  failing  of  her  spirits;  and 
hearing  her  strike  so  soon  into  a  playful  and  charming  vein 
of  talk,  Challoner  could  not  sufficiently  admire  the  elasticity 
of  his  companion's  nature.  "  Let  me  forget,"  she  had  said, 
"  for  one  half  hour,  let  me  forget ;  "  and  sure  enough,  with 
the  very  word,  her  sorrows  appeared  to  be  forgotten.  Be- 
fore every  house  she  paused,  invented  a  name  for  the  pro- 
prietor, and  sketched  his  character:  here  lived  the  old 
general  whom  she  was  to  marry  on  the  fifth  of  the  next 
month,  there  was  the  mansion  of  the  rich  widow  who  had  set 
her  heart  on  Challoner;  and  though  she  still  hung  wearily 
on  the  young  man's   arm,  her  laughter   sounded  low   and 


THE    SQUIRE    OF   DAMES 

pleasant  in  his  ears.  "  Ah,"  she  sighed,  by  way  of  com- 
mentary, "  in  such  a  life  as  mine  I  must  seize  tight  told  of 
any  happiness  that  I  can  find." 

When  they  arrived,  in  this  leisurely  manner,  at  the  head 
of  Grosvenor  Place,  the  gates  of  the  park  were  opening  and 
the  bedraggled  company  of  night  walkers  were  being  at  last 
admitted  into  that  paradise  of  lawns.  Challoner  and  his 
companion  followed  the  movement,  and  walked  for  awhile 
in  silence  in  that  tatterdemalion  crowd ;  but  as  one  after 
another,  weary  with  the  night's  patrolling  of  the  city  pave- 
ment, sank  upon  the  benches  or  wandered  into  separate 
paths,  the  vast  extent  of  the  park  had  soon  utterly  swallowed 
up  the  last  of  these  intruders ;  and  the  pair  proceeded  on 
their  way  alone  in  the  grateful  quiet  of  the  morning. 

Presently  they  came  in  sight  of  a  bench,  standing  very 
open  on  a  mound  of  turf.  The  young  lady  looked  about 
her  with  relief. 

"  Here,"  she  said,  "  here  at  last  we  are  secure  from  lis- 
teners. Here,  then,  you  shall  learn  and  judge  my  history. 
I  could  not  bear  that  we  should  part,  and  that  you  should 
still  suppose  your  kindness  squandered  upon  one  who  was 
unworthy." 

Thereupon  she  sat  down  upon  the  bench,  and  motioning 
Challoner  to  take  a  place  immediately  beside  her,  began  in 
the  following  words,  and  with  the  greatest  appearance  of 
enjoyment,  to  narrate  the  story  of  her  life. 


ssr 


STOUT    OF    THE    DESTROYING    AKGEL 

MY  father  was  a  native  of  England,  son  of  a  cadet  of  a 
great,  ancient  but  untitled  family ;  and  by  some  event, 
fault,  or  misfortune  he  was  driven  to  flee  from  the  land  of 
his  birth  and  to  lay  aside  the  name  of  his  ancestors.  He 
sought  the  States ;  and  instead  of  lingering  in  effeminate 
cities,  pushed  at  once  into  the  Far  West  with  an  exploring 
party  of  frontiersmen.  He  was  no  ordinary  traveler ;  for 
he  was  not  only  brave  and  impetuous  by  character,  but 
learned  in  many  sciences,  and  above  all  in  botany,  which  he 
particularly  loved.  Thus  it  fell  that,  before  many  months, 
Fremont  himself,  the  nominal  leader  of  the  troop,  courted 
and  bowed  to  his  opinion. 

They  had  pushed,  as  I  have  said,  into  the  still  unknown 
regions  of  the  West.  For  some  time  they  followed  the  track 
of  Mormon  caravans,  guiding  themselves  in  that  vast  and 
melancholy  desert  by  the  skeletons  of  men  and  animals. 
Then  they  inclined  their  route  a  little  to  the  north  and,  los- 
ing even  these  dire  memorials,  came  into  a  country  of  for- 
bidding stillness.  I  have  often  heard  my  father  dwell  upon 
the  features  of  that  ride:  rock,  cliff',  and  barren  moor 
alternated;  the  streams  were  very  far  between;  and  neither 
beast  nor  bird  disturbed  the  solitude.  On  the  fortieth  day 
they  had  already  run  so  short  of  food  that  it  was  judged 
advisable  to  call  a  halt  and  scatter  upon  all  sides  to  hunt. 
A  great  fire  was  built,  that  its  smoke  might  serve  to  rally 
them;  and  each  man  of  the  party  mounted  and  struck  off 
at  a  venture  into  the  surrounding  desert. 

My  father  rode  for  many  hours  with  a  steep  range  of 
cliffs  upon  the  one  hand,  very  black  and  horrible;  and  upon 
the  other  an  unwatered  vale  dotted  with  boulders  like  the 
site  of  some  subverted  city.  At  length  he  found  the  slot  of 
a  great  animal,  and  from  the  claw-marks  and  the  hair  among 

338 


THE   DESTROYING   ANGEL 

the  brush,  judged  that  he  was  on  the  track  of  a  cinnamon 
bear  of  most  unusual  size.  He  quickened  the  pace  of  his  steed, 
and  still  following  the  quarry,  came  at  last  to  the  division  of 
two  watersheds.  On  the  far  side  the  country  was  exceed- 
ingly intricate  and  difficult,  heaped  with  boulders,  and 
dotted  here  and  there  with  a  few  pines,  which  seemed  to 
indicate  the  neighborhood  of  water.  Here,  then,  he  picketed 
his  horse,  and  relying  on  his  trusty  rifle,  advanced  alone  into 
that  wilderness. 

Presently,  in  the  great  silence  that  reigned,  he  was  «iware 
of  the  sound  of  running  water  to  his  right;  and  leaning  in 
that  direction,  was  rewarded  by  a  scene  of  natural  wonder 
and  human  pathos  strangely  intermixed.  The  stream  ran 
at  the  bottom  of  a  narrow  and  winding  passage,  whose  wall- 
like sides  of  rock  were  sometimes  for  miles  together  unscal- 
able by  man.  The  water,  when  the  stream  was  swelled  with 
rains,  must  have  filled  it  from  side  to  side;  the  sun's  rays 
only  plumbed  it  in  the  hour  of  noon ;  the  wind,  in  that  nar- 
row and  damp  funnel,  blew  tempestuously.  And  yet,  in  the 
bottom  of  this  den,  immediately  below  my  father's  eyes  as 
he  leaned  over  the  margin  of  the  cliff,  a  party  of  some  half 
a  hundred  men,  women  and  children  lay  scattered  uneasily 
among  the  rocks.  They  lay  some  upon  their  backs,  some 
prone,  and  not  one  stirring;  their  upturned  faces  seemed 
all  of  an  extraordinary  paleness  and  emaciation;  and  from 
time  to  time,  above  the  washing  of  the  stream,  a  faint  sound 
of  moaning  mounted  to  my  father's  ears. 

While  he  thus  looked,  an  old  man  got  staggering  to  his 
feet,  unwound  his  blanket,  and  laid  it,  with  great  gentle- 
ness, on  a  young  girl  who  sat  hard  by  propped  against  a 
rock.  The  girl  did  not  seem  to  be  conscious  of  the  act; 
and  the  old  man,  after  having  looked  upon  her  with  the  most 
engaging  pity,  returned  to  his  former  bed  and  lay  down 
again  uncovered  on  the  turf.  But  the  scene  had  not  passed 
without  observation  even  in  that  starving  camp.  From  the 
very  outskirts  of  the  party,  a  man  with  a  white  beard  and 
seemingly  of  venerable  years,  rose  upon  his  knees  and  came 
crawling  stealthily  among  the  sleepers  toward  the  girl;  and 

339 


THE   DYNAMITER 

judge  of  my  father's  indignation,  when  he  beheld  this  cow- 
ardly miscreant  strip  from  her  both  the  coverings  and  return 
with  them  to  his  original  position.  Here  he  lay  down  for  a 
while  below  his  spoils,  and,  as  my  father  imagined,  feigned 
to  be  asleep ;  but  presently  he  had  raised  himself  again  upon 
one  elbow,  looked  with  sharp  scrutiny  at  his  companions, 
and  then  swiftly  carried  his  hand  into  his  bosom  and  thence 
to  his  mouth.  By  the  movement  of  his  jaws  he  must  be 
eating;  in  that  camp  of  famine  he  had  reserved  a  store  of 
nourishment;  and  while  his  companions  lay  in  the  stupor  of 
approaching  death,  secretly  restored  his  powers. 

My  father  was  so  incensed  at  what  he  saw  that  he  raised 
his  rifle;  and  but  for  an  accident,  he  has  often  declared,  he 
would  have  shot  the  fellow  dead  upon  the  spot.  How  differ- 
ent would  then  have  been  my  history!  But  it  was  not  to 
be:  even  as  he  raised  the  barrel  his  eye  lighted  on  the  bear, 
as  it  crawled  along  a  ledge  some  way  below  him ;  and  ceding 
to  the  hunter's  instinct,  it  was  at  the  brute,  not  at  the  man, 
that  he  discharged  his  piece.  The  bear  leaped  and  fell  into 
a  pool  of  the  river ;  the  canyon  re-echoed  the  report ;  and  in 
a  moment  the  camp  was  afoot.  With  cries  that  were  scarce 
human,  stumbling,  falling  and  throwing  each  other  down, 
these  starving  people  rushed  upon  the  quarry ;  and  before 
my  father,  climbing  down  by  the  ledge,  had  time  to  reach 
the  level  of  the  stream,  many  were  already  satisfying  their 
hunger  on  the  raw  flesh,  and  a  fire  was  being  built  by  the 
more  dainty. 

His  arrival  was  for  some  time  unremarked.  He  stood 
in  the  midst  of  these  tottering  and  clay-faced  marionettes ; 
he  was  surrounded  by  their  cries ;  but  their  whole  soul  was 
fixed  on  the  dead  carcass ;  even  those  who  were  too  weak  to 
move,  lay,  half-turned  over,  with  their  eyes  riveted  uppn 
the  bear ;  and  my  father,  seeing  himself  stand  as  though  in- 
visible in  the  thick  of  this  dreary  hubbub,  was  seized  with  a 
desire  to  weep.  A  touch  upon  the  arm  restrained  him. 
Turning  about  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  the  old 
man  he  had  so  nearly  killed ;  and  yet,  at  the  second  glance, 
recognized  him  for  no  old  man  at  all,  but  one  in  the  full 

340 


THE   DESTROYING   ANGEL 

strength  of  his  years,  and  of  a  strong,  speaking  and  intel- 
lectual countenance,  stigmatized  by  weariness  and  famine. 
He  beckoned  my  father  near  the  cliff,  and  there,  in  the  most 
private  whisper,  begged  for  brandy.  My  father  looked  at 
him  with  scorn :  "  You  remind  me,"  he  said,  "  of  a  neglected 
duty.  Here  is  my  flask;  it  contains  enough,  I  trust,  to  re- 
vive the  women  of  your  party ;  and  I  will  begin  with  her 
whom  I  saw  you  robbing  of  her  blankets."  And  with  that, 
not  heeding  his  appeals,  my  father  turned  his  back  upon 
the  egoist. 

The  girl  still  lay  reclined  against  the  rock;  she  lay  too 
far  sunk  in  the  first  stage  of  death  to  have  observed  the 
bustle  round  her  couch;  but  when  my  father  had  raised  her 
head,  put  the  flask  to  her  lips,  and  forced  or  aided  her  to 
swallow  some  drops  of  the  restorative,  she  opened  her  lan- 
guid eyes  and  smiled  upon  him  faintly.  Never  was  there  a 
smile  of  more  touching  sweetness ;  never  were  eyes  more 
deeply  violet,  more  honestly  eloquent  of  the  soul!  I  speak 
with  knowledge,  for  these  were  the  same  eyes  that  smiled 
upon  me  in  the  cradle.  From  her  who  was  to  be  his  wife, 
my  father,  still  jealously  watched  and  followed  by  the  man 
with  the  gray  beard,  carried  his  attentions  to  all  the  women 
of  the  party,  and  gave  the  last  drainings  of  his  flask  to  those 
among  the  men  who  seemed  in  the  most  need. 

"  Is  there  none  left.''  not  a  drop  for  me.''  "  said  the  man 
with  the  beard. 

"  Not  one  drop,"  replied  my  father ;  "  and  If  j'ou  find 
yourself  In  want,  let  me  counsel  you  to  put  your  hand  into 
the  pocket  of  your  coat." 

"All!"  cried  the  other,  "you  misjudge  me.  You  think 
me  one  who  clings  to  life  for  selfish  and  commonplace  con- 
siderations. But  let  me  tell  you,  that  were  all  this  caravan 
to  perish,  the  world  would  but  bo  lightened  of  a  weight. 
These  are  but  human  Insects,  pullulating,  thick  as  may-flies, 
in  the  slums  of  European  cities,  whom  I  myself  have  plucked 
from  degradation  and  misery,  from  the  dung-heap  and  gin- 
palace  door.     And  you  compare  their  lives  with  mine ! " 

"  You  are  then  a  Mormon  missionary  ?  "  asked  my  father. 

S41 


tTHE   DYNAMITER 

"  Oh !  "  cried  the  man,  with  a  strange  smile,  "  a  Mormon 
missionary  if  you  will!  I  value  not  the  title.  Were  I  no 
more  than  that,  I  could  have  died  without  a  murmur.  But 
with  my  life  as  a  physician  is  bound  up  the  knowledge  of 
great  secrets  and  the  future  of  man.  This  it  was,  when  we 
missed  the  caravan,  tried  for  a  short  cut  and  wandered  to 
this  desolate  ravine,  that  ate  into  my  soul  and,  in  five  days, 
has  changed  my  beard  from  ebony  to  silver." 

"  And  you  are  a  physician,"  mused  my  father,  looking  on 
his  face,  "  bound  by  oath  to  succor  man  in  his  distresses." 

"  Sir,"  returned  the  Mormon,  "  my  name  is  Grierson :  you 
will  hear  that  name  again;  and  you  will  then  understand 
that  my  duty  was  not  to  this  caravan  of  paupers,  but  to 
mankind  at  large." 

My  father  turned  to  the  remainder  of  the  party,  who  were 
now  sufficiently  revived  to  hear;  told  them  that  he  would  set 
off  at  once  to  bring  help  from  his  own  party ;  "  and,"  he 
added,  "  if  you  be  again  reduced  to  such  extremities,  look 
round  you,  and  you  will  see  the  earth  strewn  with  assistance. 
Here,  for  instance,  growing  on  the  under-side  of  fissures  in 
this  cliff,  you  will  perceive  a  yellow  moss.  Trust  me,  it  is 
both  edible  and  excellent." 

"  Ha !  "  said  Doctor  Grierson,  "  you  know  botany !  " 

*'  Not  I  alone,"  returned  my  father,  lowering  his  voice ; 
*'  for  see  where  these  have  been  scraped  away.  Am  I  right ; 
Was  that  your  secret  store?  " 

My  father's  comrades,  he  found,  when  he  returned  to 
the  signal-fire,  had  made  a  good  day's  hunting.  They  were 
thus  the  more  easily  persuaded  to  extend  assistance  to  the 
Mormon  caravan ;  and  the  next  day  beheld  both  parties  on 
the  march  for  the  frontiers  of  Utah.  The  distance  to  be 
traversed  was  not  great;  but  the  nature  of  the  country  and 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  food,  extended  the  time  to  nearly 
three  weeks ;  and  my  father  had  thus  ample  leisure  to  know 
and  appreciate  the  girl  whom  he  had  succored.  I  will  call 
my  mother  Lucy.  Her  family  name  I  am  not  at  liberty  to 
mention;  it  is  one  you  would  know  well.  By  what  series  of 
undeserved   calamities   this   innocent   flower  of  maidenhood, 

343 


THE   DESTROYING   AXGEL 

lovely,  refined  by  education,  ennobled  by  the  finest  taste,  was 
thus  cast  among  the  horrors  of  a  Mormon  caravan,  I  must 
not  stay  to  tell  you.  Let  it  suffice,  that  even  in  these  un- 
toward circumstances,  she  found  a  heart  worthy  of  her  own. 
The  ardor  of  attachment  which  united  my  father  and  mother 
was  perhaps  partly  due  to  the  strange  manner  of  their  meet- 
ing; it  knew,  at  least,  no  bounds  either  divine  or  human; 
my  father,  for  her  sake,  determined  to  renounce  his  ambi- 
tions and  abjure  his  faith;  and  a  week  had  not  yet  passed 
upon  the  march  before  he  had  resigned  from  his  party,  ac- 
cepted the  Mormon  doctrine,  and  received  the  promise  of  my 
mother's  hand  on  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  Salt  Lake. 

The  marriage  took  place,  and  I  was  its  only  offspring. 
My  father  prospered  exceedingly  in  his  affairs,  remained 
faithful  to  my  mother;  and  though  you  may  wonder  to  hear 
it,  I  believe  there  were  few  happier  homes  in  any  country 
than  that  in  which  I  saw  the  light  and  grew  to  girlhood. 
We  were,  indeed,  and  in  spite  of  all  our  wealth,  avoided  as 
heretics  and  half-believers  by  the  more  precise  and  pious  of 
the  faithful:  Young  himself,  that  formidable  tyrant,  was 
known  to  look  askance  upon  my  father's  riches ;  but  of  this 
I  had  no  guess.  I  dwelt,  indeed,  under  the  Mormon  system, 
with  perfect  innocence  and  faith.  Some  of  our  friends  had 
many  wives ;  but  such  was  the  custom ;  and  why  should  it 
surprise  me  more  than  marriage  itself.?  ^rom  time  to  time 
one  of  our  rich  acquaintances  would  disappear,  his  family 
be  broken  up,  his  wives  and  houses  shared  among  the  elders 
of  the  church,  and  his  memory  only  recalled  with  bated 
breath  and  dreadful  headshakings.  When  I  had  been  very 
still  and  my  presence  perhaps  was  forgotten,  some  such 
topic  would  arise  among  my  elders  by  the  evening  fire;  I 
would  see  them  draw  the  closer  together  and  look  behind 
them  with  scared  eyes ;  and  I  might  gather  from  their  whis- 
perings how  some  one,  rich,  honored,  healthy  and  in  the 
prime  of  his  days,  some  one,  perhaps,  who  had  taken  me  on 
his  knees  a  week  before,  had  in  one  hour  been  spirited  from 
home  and  family,  and  vanished  like  an  image  from  a  mirror, 
leaving  not  a  print  behind.     It  was  terrible,  indeed;  but  so 

343 


THE  DYNAMITER 

was  death,  the  universal  law.  And  even  If  the  talt  sliould 
wax  still  bolder,  full  of  ominous  silences  and  nods,  and  I 
should  hear  named  in  a  wnisper  the  Destroying  Angels,  how 
was  a  child  to  understand  these  mysteries?  I  heard  of  a 
Destroying  Angel  as  some  more  happy  child  might  hear  in 
England  of  a  bishop  or  a  rural  dean,  with  vague  respect  and 
without  the  wish  for  further  information.  Life  anywhere, 
in  society  as  in  nature,  rests  upon  dread  foundations ;  I  be- 
held safe  roads,  a  garden  blooming  in  the  desert,  pious 
people  crowding  to  worship ;  I  was  aware  of  my  parents' 
tenderness  and  all  the  harmless  luxuries  of  my  existence ;  and 
why  should  I  pry  beneath  this  honest  seeming  surface  for 
the  mysteries  on  which  it  stood? 

We  dwelt  originally  in  the  city;  but  at  an  early  date  we 
moved  to  a  beautiful  house  in  a  green  dingle,  musical  with 
splashing  water,  and  surrounded  on  almost  every  side  by 
twenty  miles  of  poisonous  and  rocky  desert.  The  city  was 
thirty  miles  away;  there  was  but  one  road,  which  went  no 
further  than  my  father's  door;  the  rest  were  bridle-tracks 
impassable  in  winter ;  and  we  thus  dwelt  in  a  solitude  incon- 
ceivable to  the  European.  Our  only  neighbor  was  Dr.  Grier- 
son.  To  my  young  eyes,  after  the  hair-oiled,  chin-bearded 
elders  of  the  city,  and  the  ill-faVored  and  mentally  stunted 
women  of  their  harems,  there  was  something  agreeable  in  the 
correct  manner,  the  fine  bearing,  the  thin  white  hair  and 
beard,  and  the  piercing  looks  of  the  old  doctor.  Yet,  though 
he  was  almost  our  only  visitor,  I  never  whoUy  overcame  a 
sense  of  fear  in  his  presence ;  and  this  disquietude  was  rather 
fed  by  the  awful  solitude  in  which  he  lived  and  the  obscurity 
that  hung  about  his  occupations.  His  house  was  but  a  mile 
or  two  from  ours,  but  very  differently  placed.  It  stood 
overlooking  the  road  on  the  summit  of  a  steep  slope,  and 
planted  close  against  a  range  of  overhanging  bluffs.  Na- 
ture, you  would  say,  had  here  desired  to  imitate  the  works 
of  man ;  for  the  slope  was  even  like  the  glacis  of  a  fort,  and 
the  cliffs  of  a  constant  height,  like  the  ramparts  of  a  city. 
Not  even  spring  could  change  one  feature  of  that  desolate 
scene;  and  the  windows  looked  down  across  a  plain,  snowy 

34.4 


THE   DESTEOYIISTG  ANGEL 

with  altali,  to  ranges  of  cold  stone  sierras  on  the  north. 
Twice  or  thrice  I  remember  passing  within  view  of  this  for- 
bidding residence;  and  seeing  it  always  shuttered,  smokeless 
and  desei'ted,  I  remarked  to  my  parents  that  some  day  it 
would  certainly  be  robbed. 

"  Ah,  no,"  said  my  father,  "  never  robbed ! "  and  I  ob- 
served a  strange  conviction  in  his  tone. 

At  last,  and  not  long  before  the  blow  fell  on  my  unhappy 
family,  I  chanced  to  see  the  doctor's  house  in  a  new  hght. 
My  father  was  ill ;  my  mother  confined  to  his  bedside ;  and  I 
was  suffered  to  go,  under  the  charge  of  our  driver,  to  the 
lonely  house  some  twenty  miles  away,  where  our  packages 
were  left  for  us.  The  horse  cast  a  shoe ;  night  overtook  us 
halfway  home ;  and  it  vas  well  on  for  three  in  the  morning 
when  the  driver  and  I,  alone  in  a  light  wagon,  came  to  that 
part  of  the  road  syhich  ran  below  the  doctor's  house.  The 
moon  swam  ejear.;  the  cliffs  and  mountains  in  this  strong 
light  lay  utterly  deserted;  but  the  house,  from  its  station 
on  tlie  top  of  the  long  slope  and  close  under  the  bluff,  not 
only  shone  abroad  from  every  window  like  a  pla,ce  of  festival, 
but  from  the  great  chimney  at  the  west  end  poured  forth  a 
coil  of  smoke  so  thick  and  so  voluminous,  that  it  hung  for 
miles  along  the  winxiless  night  air,  and  its  shadow  lay  far 
abroad  in  the  moonlight  upon  the  glittering  alkali.  As  we 
continued  to  draw  near,  besides,  a  regular  and  panting  throb 
began  to  djyide  the  silence.  First  it  seenjed  to  me  Like  the 
beating  of  a  heart ;  and  next  jt  put  into  niy  mind  the  thought 
of  some  giant  sn?othered  under  mountains  and  still,  with 
jnealculable  effort,  fetching  breath.  I  had  heard  of  the 
railway,  though  I  had  not  seen  it,  and  I  turned  to  ask  the 
driver  if  this  resembled  it.  But  some  look  in  his  eye,  some 
pallor,  ^whethe^  of  fear  or  ntj-oonlight  on  his  face,  caused  the 
words  to  die  upon  my  lips.  We  continued,  therefore,  to 
advance  in  silen.ce,  till  we  were  close  below  the  lighted  house ; 
when  suddenly,  without  one  premonitory  rystle,  there  burst 
forth  a  report  of  such  a  bign.ess  that  it  shook  the  earth  and 
set  the  echoes  of  the  mountains  thundering  from  .cliff  to  cliff. 
A  pillar  of  amber  flame  leaped  from  the  chimney-top  and 

S45 


THE   DYNAMITER 

fell  in  multitudes  of  sparks ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  lights 
in  the  windows  turned  for  one  instant  ruby  red  and  then 
expired.  The  driver  had  checked  his  horse  instinctively,  and 
the  echoes  were  still  rumbling  further  off  among  the  moun- 
tains, when  there  broke  from  the  now  darkened  interior  a 
series  of  yells — whether  of  man  or  woman  it  was  impossible 
to  guess — the  door  flew  open,  and  there  ran  forth  into  the 
moonhght,  at  the  top  of  the  long  slope,  a  figure  clad  in  white, 
which  began  to  dance  and  leap  and  throw  itself  down,  and 
roll  as  if  in  agony,  before  the  house.  I  could  no  more  re- 
strain my  cries ;  the  driver  laid  his  lash  about  the  horse's 
flank,  and  we  fled  up  the  rough  track  at  the  peril  of  our 
lives ;  and  did  not  draw  rein  till,  turning  the  corner  of  the 
mountain,  we  beheld  my  father's  ranch  and  deep,  green 
groves  and  gardens,  sleeping  in  the  tranquil  night. 

This  was  the  one  adventure  of  my  life,  until  my  father  had 
climbed  to  the  very  topmost  point  of  material  prosperity, 
and  I  myself  had  reached  the  age  of  seventeen.  I  was  still 
innocent  and  merry  like  a  child ;  tended  my  garden  or  ran 
upon  the  hills  in  glad  simplicity;  gave  not  a  thought  to  co- 
quetry or  to  material  cares ;  and  if  my  eye  rested  on  my 
own  image  In  a  mirror  or  some  sylvan  spring,  it  was  to  seek 
and  recognize  the  features  of  my  parents.  But  the  fears 
which  had  long  pressed  on  others  were  now  to  be  laid  on  my 
youth.  I  had  thrown  myself,  one  sultry,  cloudy  afternoon, 
on  a  divan;  the  windows  stood  open  on  the  veranda,  where 
my  mother  sat  with  her  embroidery ;  and  when  my  father 
joined  her  from  the  garden,  their  conversation,  clearly 
audible  to  me,  was  of  so  startling  a  nature  that  it  held  me 
enthralled  where  I  lay. 

"  The  blow  has  come,"  my  father  said,  after  a  long  pause. 

I  could  hear  my  mother  start  and  turn,  but  in  words  she 
made  no  reply. 

"  Yes,"  continued  my  father,  "  I  have  received  to-day  a 
list  of  all  that  I  possess ;  of  all,  I  say ;  of  what  I  have  lent 
privately  to  men  whose  lips  are  sealed  with  terror ;  of  what  I 
have  buried  with  my  own  hand  on  the  bare  mountain,  when 
there  was  not  a  bird  in  heaven.     Does  the  air,  then,  carry 

SAG 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

secrets?  Are  the  hills  of  glass?  Do  the  stones  we  tread 
upon  preserve  the  footprint  to  betray  us?  Oh,  Lucy,  Lucy, 
that  we  should  have  come  to  such  a  country !  " 

"  But  this,"  returned  my  mother,  "  is  no  very  new  or 
very  threatening  event.  You  are  accused  of  some  conceal- 
ment. You  will  pay  more  taxes  in  the  future,  and  be  mulcted 
in  a  fine.  It  is  disquieting,  indeed,  to  find  our  acts  so  spied 
upon,  and  the  most  private  known.  But  is  this  new?  Have 
we  not  long  feared  and  suspected  every  blade  of  grass?  " 

"  Ay,  and  our  shadows !  "  cried  my  father.  "  But  all  this 
is  nothing.     Here  is  the  letter  that  accompanied  the  list." 

I  heard  my  mother  turn  the  pages ;  and  she  was  some  time 
silent. 

"  I  see,"  she  said  at  last ;  and  then  with  the  tone  of  one 
reading:  "  '  From  a  believer  so  largely  blessed  by  Providence 
with  this  world's  goods,' "  ahe  continued,  "  *  the  Church 
awaits  in  confidence  some  signal  mark  of  piety.'  There  lies 
the  sting.  Am  I  not  right?  These  are  the  words  you 
fear?  " 

"  These  are  the  words,"  replied  my  father.  "  Lucy,  you 
remember  Priestley?  Two  days  before  he  disappeared,  he 
carried  me  to  the  summit  of  an  isolated  butte;  we  could  see 
around  us  for  ten  miles ;  sure,  if  in  any  quarter  of  this  land 
a  man  were  safe  from  spies,  it  were  in  such  a  station ;  but  it 
was  in  the  very  ague  fit  of  terror  that  he  told  me,  and  that 
I  heard,  his  story.  He  had  received  a  letter  such  as  this; 
and  he  submitted  to  my  approval  an  answer  in  which  he 
offered  to  resign  a  third  of  his  possessions.  I  conjured 
him,  as  he  valued  his  life,  to  raise  his  offering ;  and,  before 
we  parted,  he  had  doubled  the  amount.  Well,  two  days  later 
he  was  gone — gone  from  the  chief  street  of  the  city  in  the 
hour  of  noon — and  gone  forever.  O  God !  "  cried  my  father, 
"  by  what  art  do  they  thus  spirit  out  of  life  the  solid  body  ? 
What  death  do  they  command  that  leaves  no  traces?  that 
this  material  structure,  these  strong  arms,  this  skeleton  that 
can  resist  the  grave  for  centuries,  should  be  thus  reft  in  a 
moment  from  the  world  of  sense?  A  horror  dwells  in  that 
thought  more  awful  than  mere  death." 

347 


THE  DYNAMITER 

•*  Is  there  no  hope  in  Grierson  ?  "  asked  my  mother. 

"  Dismiss  the  thought,"  repHed  my  father.  "  He  now 
knows  all  that  I  can  teach,  and  will  do  naught  to  save  me. 
His  power,  besides,  is  small,  his  own  danger  not  improbably 
more  imminent  than  mine ;  for  he,  too,  lives  apart ;  he  leaves 
his  wives  neglected  and  unwatched;  he  is  openly  cited  for  an 
unbeliever ;  and  unless  he  buys  security  at  a  more  awful  price 
— ^but  no ;  I  will  not  beheve  it ;  I  have  no  love  for  him,  but 
I  will  not  believe  it." 

"Believe  what.?*'  asks  my  mother;  and  then,  with  a 
change  of  note,  "But  oh,  what  matters  it.?*"  she  cried. 
*'  Abimelech,  there  is  but  one  way  open :  we  must  fly !  '* 

"  It  is  in  vain,"  returned  my  father.  "  I  should  but  in- 
volve you  in  my  fate.  To  leave  this  land  is  hopeless :  we  are 
closed  in  it  as  men  are  closed  in  life;  and  there  is  no  issue 
but  the  grave." 

"  We  can  but  die  then,"  replied  my  mother.  "  Let  us 
at  least  die  together.  Let  not  Asenath  ^  and  myself  sur- 
vive you.     Think  to  what  a  fate  we  should  be  doomed !  " 

My  father  was  unable  to  resist  her  tender  violence;  and 
though  I  could  see  he  nourished  not  one  spark  of  hope,  he 
consented  to  desert  his  whole  estate,  beyond  some  hundreds  of 
dollars  that  he  had  by  him  at  the  moment,  and  to  flee  that 
night,  which  promised  to  be  dark  and  cloudy.  As  soon  as 
the  servants  Avere  asleep,  he  was  to  load  two  mules  with  pro- 
visions ;  two  others  were  to  carry  my  mother  and  myself ; 
and,  striking  through  the  mountains  by  an  unfrequented 
trail,  we  were  to  make  a  fair  stroke  for  liberty  and  life.  As 
soon  as  they  had  thus  decided,  I  showed  myself  at  the  win- 
dow, and,  owning  that  I  had  heard  all,  assured  them  that 
they  could  rely  on  my  prudence  and  devotion.  I  had  no 
fear,  indeed,  but  to  show  myself  unworthy  of  my  birth;  I 
held  my  life  in  mj-^  hand  without  alarm ;  and  when  my  father, 
weeping  upon  my  neck,  had  blessed  Heaven  for  the  courage 
of  his  child,  it  was  with  a  sentiment  of  pride  and  some  of  the 
joy  that  warriors  take  in  war,  that  I  began  to  look  forward 
to  the  perils  of  our  flight. 

ilii  this  name  the  accent  falls  upon  the  e;  the  s  is  sibilant. 

348 


THE   DESTROYING   ANGEL 

Before  midnight,  under  an  obscure  and  starless  heaven, 
we  had  left  far  behind  us  the  plantations  of  the  valley,  and 
were  mounting  a  certain  canyon  in  the  hills,  narrow,  en- 
cumbered with  great  rocks,  and  echoing  with  the  roar  of  a 
tumultuous  torrent.  Cascade  after  cascade  thundered  and 
hung  up  its  flag  of  whiteness  in  the  night,  or  fanned  our 
faces  with  the  wet  wind  of  its  descent.  The  trail  was  break- 
neck, and  led  to  famine-guarded  deserts ;  it  had  been  long 
since  deserted  for  more  practicable  routes ;  and  it  was  now  a 
part  of  the  world  untrod  from  year  to  year  by  human  footing. 
Judge  of  our  dismay,  when  turning  suddenly  an  angle  of 
the  cliffs,  we  found  a  bright  bonfire  blazing  by  itself  under 
an  impending  rock;  and  on  the  face  of  the  rock,  drawn  very 
rudely  with  chained  wood,  the  great  Open  Eye  which  is  the 
emblem  of  the  Mormon  faith.  We  looked  upon  each  otltfer 
in  the  firelight ;  my  mother  broke  into  a  passion  of  tears ; 
but  not  a  word  was  said.  The  mules  were  turned  about ; 
and  leaving  that  great  eye  to  guard  the  lonely  canyon,  we 
retraced  our  steps  in  silence.  Day  had  not  yet  broken  ere 
we  were  once  more  at  home,  condemned  beyond  reprieve. 

What  answer  my  father  sent  I  was  not  told ;  but  two  days 
later,  a  little  before  sundown,  I  saw  a  plain,  honest-looking 
man  ride  slowly  up  the  road  in  a  great  pother  of  dust.  He 
was  clad  in  homespun,  with  a  broad  straw  hat;  wore  a 
patriarchal  beard ;  and  had  an  air  of  a  simple  rustic  farmer, 
that  was,  in  my  eyes,  very  reassuring.  He  was,  indeed,  a 
very  honest  man  and  pious  Mormon ;  with  no  liking  for  his 
errand,  though  neither  he  nor  any  one  in  Utah  dared  to  dis- 
obey ;  and  it  was  with  every  mark  of  diffidence  that  he  had 
himself  announced  as  Mr.  Aspinwall,  and  entered  the  room 
where  our  unhappy  familv  was  gathered.  IMy  mother  and 
me  he  awkwardly  enough  dismissed;  and  as  spon  as  he  was 
alone  with  my  father  laid  before  him  ft  blank  signature  of 
President  Young's,  and  offered  liim  a  choice  of  services ; 
either  to  set  out  as  a  missionary  to  the  tribes  about  the 
White  Sea,  or  to  join  the  next  day,  with  a  party  of  Destroy- 
ing Angels,  in  the  massacre  of  sixty  German  immigrants. 
The  last,  of  course,  my  father  could  not  entertain,  and  the 

34>9 


THE   DYNAMITER 

first  he  regarded  as  a  pretext :  even  if  he  could  consent  to 
leave  his  wife  defenseless,  and  to  collect  fresh  victims  for  the 
tyranny  under  which  he  was  himself  oppressed,  he  felt  sure 
he  would  never  be  suffered  to  return.  He  refused  both;  and 
Aspinwall,  he  said,  betrayed  sincere  emotion,  part  religious, 
at  the  spectacle  of  such  disobedience,  but  part  human,  in 
pity  for  my  father  and  his  family.  He  besought  him  to  re- 
consider his  decision ;  and  at  length,  finding  he  could  not 
prevail,  gave  him  till  the  moon  rose  to  settle  his  affairs,  and 
say  farewell  to  wife  and  daughter.  "  For,"  said  he,  "  then, 
at  the  latest,  you  must  ride  with  me." 

I  dare  not  dwell  upon  the  hours  that  followed:  they  fled 
all  too  fast;  and  presently  the  moon  out-topped  the  eastern 
range,  and  my  father  and  Mr.  Aspinwall  set  forth,  side  by 
side,  on  their  i?.">cturnal  journey.  My  mother,  though  still 
bearing  a  heroic  countenance,  had  hastened  to  shut  herself 
in  her  apartment,  thenceforward  solitary ;  and  I,  alone  in  the 
dark  house,  and  consumed  by  grief  and  apprehension,  made 
haste  to  saddle  my  Indian  pony,  to  ride  up  to  the  corner  of 
the  mountain,  and  to  enjoy  one  farewell  sight  of  my  depart- 
ing father.  The  two  men  had  set  forth  at  a  deliberate  pace ; 
nor  was  I  long  behind  them,  when  I  reached  the  point  of  view. 
I  was  the  more  amazed  to  see  no  moving  creature  in  the  land- 
scape. The  moon,  as  the  saying  is,  shone  bright  as  day ; 
and  nowhere,  under  the  whole  arch  of  night,  was  there  a 
growing  tree,  a  bush,  a  farm,  a  patch  of  tillage,  or  any 
evidence  of  man,  but  one.  From  the  corner  where  I  stood, 
a  rugged  bastion  of  the  line  of  bluffs  concealed  the  doctor's 
house;  and  across  the  top  of  that  projection  the  soft  night 
wind  carried  and  unwound  about  the  hills  a  coil  of  sable 
smoke.  What  fuel  could  produce  a  vapor  so  sluggish  to  dis- 
sipate in  that  dry  air,  or  what  furnace  pour  it  forth  so 
copiously,  I  was  unable  to  conceive;  but  I  knew  well  enough 
that  it  came  from  the  doctor's  chimney ;  I  saw  well  enough 
that  my  father  had  already  disappeared;  and  in  despite  of 
reason,  I  connected  in  my  mind  the  loss  of  that  dear  pro- 
tector with  the  ribbon  of  foul  smoke  that  trailed  along  the 
mountains. 

850 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

Days  passed,  and  still  my  mother  and  I  waited  In  vain 
for  news ;  a  week  went  by,  a  second  followed,  but  we  heard 
no  word  of  the  father  and  husband.  As  smoke  dissipates, 
as  the  image  glides  from  the  mirror,  so  in  the  ten  or  twenty 
minutes  that  I  had  spent  In  getting  my  horse  and  following 
upon  his  trail,  had  that  strong  and  brave  man  vanished  out 
of  life.  Hope,  if  any  hope  we  had,  fled  with  every  hour ; 
the  worst  was  now  certain  for  my  father,  the  worst  was  to 
be  dreaded  for  his  defenseless  family.  Without  weakness, 
with  a  desperate  calm  at  which  I  marvel  when  I  look  back 
upon  it,  the  widow  and  the  orphan  awaited  the  event.  On  the 
last  day  of  the  third  week  we  rose  in  the  morning  to  find  oui*- 
selves  alone  in  the  house,  alone,  so  far  as  we  searched,  on  the 
estate;  all  our  attendants,  with  one  accord,  had  fled;  and  as 
we  knew  them  to  be  gratefully  devoted,  we  drew  the  darkest 
intimations  from  their  flight.  The  day  passed,  indeed,  with- 
out event;  but  in  the  fall  of  the  evening  we  were  called  at 
last  into  the  veranda  by  the  approaching  clink  of  horse's 
hoofs. 

The  doctor,  mounted  on  an  Indian  pony,  rode  into  the 
garden,  dismounted,  and  saluted  us.  He  seemed  much  more 
bent,  and  his  hair  more  silvery  than  ever;  but  his  demeanor 
was  composed,  serious,  and  not  unkind. 

"  Madam,"  said  he,  "  I  am  come  upon  a  weighty  errand ; 
and  I  would  have  you  recognize  it  as  an  eff'ect  of  kindness 
in  the  President,  that  he  should  send  as  his  ambassador  your 
only  neighbor  and  your  husband's  oldest  friend  in  Utah." 

"  Sir,"  said  my  mother,  "  I  have  but  one  concern,  one 
thought.  You  know  well  what  it  Is.  Speak:  my  husband?  " 
"  Madam,"  returned  the  doctor,  taking  a  chair  on  the 
veranda,  "  if  you  were  a  silly  child,  my  position  would  now 
be  painfully  embarrassing.  You  are,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
woman  of  great  intelligence  and  fortitude ;  you  have,  by  my 
forethought,  been  allowed  three  weeks  to  draw  your  own  con- 
clusions and  to  accept  the  Inevitable.  Further  words  from 
me  are,  I  conceive,  superfluous." 

My  mother  was  as  pale  as  death,  and  trembled  like  a 
reed;  I  gave  her  my  hand,  and  she  kept  it  in  the  folds  of, 

351 


THE   DYNAMITER 

her  dress  and  wrung  It  till  I  could  have  cried  aloud.  "  Tlien^ 
sir,"  said  she  at  last,  "  you  speak  to  deaf  ears.  If  this  be 
indeed  so,  wliat  have  I  to  do  with  errands  .^  what  do  I  ask 
of  Heaven  but  to  die?  *^ 

"  Come,"  said  the  doctor,  "  command  yourself.  I  bid  you 
dismiss  all  thoughts  of  your  late  husband,  and  bring  a  clear 
mind  to  bear  upon  your  own  future  and  the  fate  of  that 
young  girl." 

"  You  bid  me  dismiss "  began  my  mother.     "  Then 

you  know !  "  she  cried. 

*'  I  know,"  replied  the  doctor. 

"You  know.P  "  broke  out  the  poor  woman.  "Then  It 
was  you  who  did  the  deed!  I  tear  oif  the  mask,  and  with 
dread  and  loathing  see  you  as  you  are — you,  whom  the  poor 
fugitive  beholds  in  nightmares,  and  awakes  raving — you, 
the  Destroying  Angel !  " 

"  Well,  madam,  and  what  then .''  '*  returned  the  doctor, 
"  Have  not  my  fate  and  yours  been  similar .''  Are  we  not 
both  immured  in  this  strong  prison  of  Utah?  Have  you  not 
tried  to  flee,  and  did  not  the  Open  Eye  confront  you  In  the 
canyon?  Who  can  escape  the  watch  of  that  unsleeping  eye 
of  Utah?  Not  I,  at  least.  Horrible  tasks  have,  indeed,  been 
laid  upon  me ;  and  the  most  ungrateful  was  the  last ;  but  had 
I  refused  my  offices,  would  that  have  spared  your  husband? 
You  know  well  it  would  not.  I,  too,  had  perished  along  with 
him ;  nor  would  I  have  been  able  to  alleviate  his  last  mo- 
ments, nor  could  I  to-day  have  stood  between  his  family  and 
the  hand  of  Brigham  Young." 

"  Ah,"  cried  I,  "  and  could  you  purchase  life  by  such 
concessions  ?  " 

"  Young  lady,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  I  both  could  and 
did;  and  you  will  live  to  thank  me  for  that  baseness.  You 
had  a  spirit,  Asenath,  that  it  pleases  me  to  recognize.  But 
we  waste  time.  Mr.  Fonblanque's  estate  reverts,  as  you 
doubtless  imagine,  to  the  church;  but  some  part  of  it  has 
been  reserved  for  him  who  is  to  marry  the  family ;  and  that 
person,  I  should  perhaps  tell  j'ou  without  delay,  is  no  other 
than  myself." 

S52 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

At  this  odious  proposal  my  mother  and  I  cried  out  alou(5, 
and  clung  together  like  lost  souls. 

"  It  is  as  I  supposed,"  resumed  the  doctor,  with  the  same 
measured  utterance.  "  You  recoil  from  this  arrangement. 
Do  you  expect  me  to  convince  you.'*  You  know  very  well 
that  I  have  never  held  the  Monnon  view  of  women.  Ab- 
sorbed in  the  most  arduous  studies,  I  have  left  the  slatterns 
whom  they  call  my  wives  to  scratch  and  quarrel  among  them- 
selves ;  of  me,  they  have  nothing  but  my  purse ;  such  was 
not  the  union  I  desired,  even  if  I  had  the  leisure  to  pursue 
it.  No ;  you  need  not,  madam,  and  my  old  friend — "  and 
here  the  doctor  rose  and  bowed  with  something  of  gallantry 
— "  you  need  not  apprehend  my  importunities.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  am  rejoiced  to  read  in  you  a  Roman  spirit;  and  if 
I  am  obliged  to  bid  you  follow  me  at  once,  and  that  in 
the  name,  not  of  ra}'  wish,  but  of  my  orders,  I  hope  it  will  be 
found  that  we  are  of  a  common  mind." 

So,  bidding  us  dress  for  the  road,  he  took  a  lamp  (for 
the  night  had  now  fallen)  and  set  off  to  the  stable  to  prepare 
our  horses. 

"  What  does  it  mean  ? — what  will  become  of  us  ?  "  I  cried. 

"  Not  that,  at  least,"  replied  my  mother,  shuddering. 
"  So  far  we  can  trust  him.  I  seem  to  read  among  his  words 
a  certain  tragic  promise.  Asenath,  if  I  leave  you,  if  I  die, 
you  will  not  forget  3^our  miserable  parents  ?  " 

Thereupon  we  fell  to  cross-purposes:  I  beseeching  her  to 
explain  her  words ;  she  putting  me  b}',  and  continuing  to 
recommend  the  doctor  for  a  friend.  "  The  doctor !  "  I  cried 
at  last;  *' the  man  who  killed  my  father.'^" 

*'  Nay,"  said  she,  "  let  us  be  just.  I  do  believe,  before 
Heaven,  he  played  the  friendliest  part.  And  he  alone, 
Asenath,  can  protect  3'ou  in  this  land  of  death." 

At  this  the  doctor  returned,  leading  cur  two  horses ;  and 
when,  we  were  all  in  the  saddle,  he  bade  me  ride  on  before,  as 
he  had  matter  to  discuss  with  Mrs.  Fonblanque.  They  came 
at  a  foot's  pace,  eagerly  conversing  in  a  whisper;  and  pres- 
ently after  the  moon  rose  and  showed  them  looking  eagerly 
into  each  other's  faces  as  they  went,  my  mother  laying  her 

S53 


THE   DYNAMITER 

hand  upon  the  doctor's  arm,  and  the  doctor  himself,  against 
his  usual  custom,  making  vigorous  gestures  of  protest  or 
asseveration. 

At  tlie  foot  of  the  track  which  ascended  the  talus  of  the 
mountain  to  his  door,  the  doctor  overtook  me  at  a  trot. 

"  Here,"  he  said,  "  we  shall  dismount ;  and  as  your 
mother  prefers  to  be  alone,  you  and  I  shall  walk  together 
to  my  house." 

"  Shall  I  see  her  again  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  give  you  my  word,"  he  said,  and  helped  me  to  alight. 
"  We  leave  the  horses  here,"  he  added.  "  There  are  no 
thieves  in  this  stone  wilderness."" 

The  track  mounted  gradually,  keeping  the  house  in  view. 
The  windows  were  once  more  bright;  the  chimney  once  more 
vomited  smoke;  but  the  most  absolute  silence  reigned,  and, 
but  for  the  figure  of  my  mother  very  slowly  following  in  our 
wake,  I  felt  convinced  that  there  was  no  human  soul  within 
a  range  of  miles.  At  the  thought,  I  looked  upon  the  doctor, 
gravely  walking  by  my  side,  with  bowed  shoulders,  and  then 
once  more  at  his  house,  lit  up  and  pouring  smoke  like  some 
industrious  factory.  And  then  my  curiosity  broke  forth. 
"  In  heaven's  name,"  I  cried,  "  what  do  you  make  in  this 
inhuman  desert.?  " 

He  looked  at  me  with  a  peculiar  smile,  and  answered 
with  an  evasion: 

"  This  is  not  the  first  time,"  said  he,  "  that  you  have  seen 
my  furnaces  alight.  One  morning,  in  the  small  hours,  I 
saw  you  driving  past;  a  delicate  experiment  miscarried; 
and  I  can  not  acquit  myself  of  having  startled  either  your 
driver  or  the  horse  that  drew  you." 

"  What ! "  cried  I,  beholding  again  in  fancy  the  antics  of 
the  figure,  "  could  that  be  you?  " 

"  It  was  I,"  he  replied ;  "  but  do  not  fancy  that  I  was 
mad.     I  was  in  agony.     I  had  been  scalded  cruelly." 

We  were  now  near  the  house,  which,  unlike  the  ordinary 
houses  of  the  country,  was  built  of  hewn  stone  and  very 
solid.  Stone,  too,  was  its  foundation,  stone  its  background. 
Not  a,  blade  of  grass  sprouted  among  the  broken  mineral 

354 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

about  the  walls,  not  a  flower  adorned  the  windows.  Over  the 
door,  by  way  of  sole  adornment,  the  Mormon  Eye  was  rudely 
sculptured ;  I  had  been  brought  up  to  view  that  emblem  from 
my  childhood;  but  since  the  night  of  our  escape,  it  had 
acquired  a  new  significance,  and  set  me  shrinking.  The 
smoke  rolled  voluminously  from  the  chimney  top,  its  edges 
ruddy  with  the  fire ;  and  from  the  far  corner  of  the  building, 
near  the  ground,  angry  puffs  of  steam  shone  snow-white  in 
the  moon  and  vanished. 

The  doctor  opened  the  door  and  paused  upon  the  thres- 
hold. "  You  ask  me  what  I  make  here,"  he  observed :  "  Two 
things:  Life  and  Death."     And  he  motioned  me  to  enter. 

"  I  shall  await  my  mother,"  said  I. 

"  Child,"  he  replied,  "  look  at  me :  am  I  not  old  and 
broken,?  Of  us  two,  which  is  the  stronger,  the  young  maiden 
or  the  withered  man?  " 

I  bowed,  and  passing  by  him,  entered  a  vestibule  or 
kitchen,  lighted  by  a  good  fire  and  a  shaded  reading-lamp. 
It  was  furnished  only  with  a  dresser,  a  rude  table,  and  some 
wooden  benches ;  and  on  one  of  these  the  doctor  motioned  me 
to  take  a  seat ;  and  passing  by  another  door  into  the  interior 
of  the  house,  he  left  me  to  myself.  Presently  I  heard  the 
jar  of  iron  from  the  far  end  of  the  building;  and  this  was 
followed  by  the  same  throbbing  noise  that  had  startled  me 
in  the  valley,  but  now  so  near  at  hand  as  to  be  menacing  by 
loudness,  and  even  to  shake  the  house  with  every  recurrence 
of  the  stroke.  I  had  scarce  time  to  master  my  alarm  when 
the  doctor  returned,  and  almost  in  the  same  moment  my 
mother  appeared  upon  the  threshold:  But  how  am  I  to  de- 
scribe to  you  the  peace  and  ravishment  of  that  face.?  Years 
seemed  to  have  passed  over  her  head  during  that  brief  ride, 
and  left  her  younger  and  fairer;  her  eyes  shone,  her  smile 
went  to  my  heart ;  she  seemed  no  more  a  woman,  but  the  angel 
of  ecstatic  tenderness.  I  ran  to  her  in  a  kind  of  terror;  but 
she  shrank  a  little  back  and  laid  her  finger  on  her  lips,  with 
something  arch  and  yet  unearthly.  To  the  doctor,  on  the 
contrary,  she  reached  out  her  hand  as  to  a  friend  and  helper ; 
and  so  strange  was  the  scene  that  I  forgot  to  be  offended. 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  Lucy,"  said  the  doctor,  "  all  is  prepared.  Will  you  go 
alone,  or  shall  your  daughter  follow  us  ?  " 

"  Let  Asenath  come,"  she  answered,  "  dear  Asenath !  At 
this  hour,  when  I  am  purified  of  fear  and  sorrow,  and  al- 
ready survive  myself  and  my  affections,  it  is  for  your  sake, 
and  not  for  mine,  that  I  desire  her  presence.  Wex'e  she  shut 
out,  dear  friend,  it  is  to  be  feared  she  might  misjudge  your 
kindness." 

"Mother,"  I  cried  wildly,  "mother,  what  is  this.?  " 

But  my  mother,  with  her  radiant  smile,  said  only 
"  Hush ! "  as  though  I  were  a  child  again,  and  tossing  in 
some  fever-fit;  and  the  doctor  bade  me  be  silent  and  trouble 
her  no  more.  "  You  have  made  a  choice,"  he  continued, 
addressing  my  mother,  "  that  has  often  strangely  tempted 
me.  The  two  extremes :  all,  or  else  nothing ;  never,  or  this 
very  hour  upon  the  clock — these  have  been  my  incongruous 
desires.  But  to  accept  the  middle  term,  to  be  content  with  a 
half-gift,  to  flicker  awhile  and  to  burn  out — never  for  an 
hour,  never  since  I  was  born,  has  satisfied  the  appetite  of 
my  ambition."  He  looked  upon  my  mother  fixedly,  much 
of  admiration  and  some  touch  of  envy  in  his  eyes ;  then,  with 
a  profound  sigh,  he  led  the  way  into  the  inner  room. 

It  was  very  long.  From  end  to  end  it  was  lit  up  by  many 
lamps,  which  by  the  changeful  color  of  their  light,  and  by 
the  incessant  snapping  sounds  with  which  they  burned,  X 
have  since  divined  to  be  electric.  At  the  extreme  end  an 
open  door  gave  us  a  glimpse  into  what  must  have  been  a 
lean-to  shed  beside  the  chimney:  and  this,  in  strong  contrast 
to  the  room,  was  painted  with  a  red  reverberation,  as  from 
furnace-doors.  The  walls  were  lined  with  books  and  glazed 
cases,  the  tables  crowded  with  the  implements  of  chemical 
research ;  great  glass  accumulators  glittered  in  the  light ; 
and  through  a  hole  in  the  gable  near  the  shed  door,  a  heavy 
driving  belt  entered  the  apartment  and  ran  overhead  upon 
steel  pulleys,  with  clumsy  activity  and  many  ghostly  and 
fluttering  sounds.  In  one  corner  I  perceived  a  chair  rest- 
ing upon  crystal  feet,  and  curiously  wreathed  with  wire.  To 
this  my  mother  advanced  with  a  decisive  swiftness, 

35(i 


i 


THE   DESTROYING   ANGEL 

«Is  tins  it?"  she  asked. 

The  doctor  bowed  in  silence. 

"  Asenath,"  said  my  mother,  "  in  this  sad  end  of  my  life 
I  have  found  one  helper.  Look  upon  him :  it  is  Doctor  Grier- 
son.  Be  not,  O  my  daughter,  be  not  ungrateful  to  that 
friend!" 

She  sat  upon  the  chair,  and  took  in  her  hands  the  globes 
that  terminated  the  arms. 

"  Am  I  right?  "  she  asked,  and  looked  upon  the  doctor 
with  such  a  radiancy  of  face  that  I  trembled  for  her  reason. 
Once  more  the  doctor  bowed,  but  tliis  time  leaning  hard 
against  the  wall.  He  must  have  touched  a  spring.  The  least 
shock  agitated  my  mother  where  she  sat ;  the  least  passing 
jar  appeared  to  cross  her  features;  and  she  sank  back  in  the 
chair  like  one  resigned  to  weariness.  I  was  at  her  knees  that 
moment ;  but  her  hands  fell  loosely  in  ray  grasp ;  her  face, 
still  beatified  with  the  same  touching  smile,  sank  forward 
on  her  bosom ;  her  spirit  had  forever  fled. 

I  do  not  know  how  long  may  have  elapsed  before,  raising 
for  a  moment  my  tearful  face,  I  met  the  doctor's  eyes. 
They  rested  upon  mine  with  such  a  depth  of  scrutiny,  pity, 
and  interest,  that  even  from  the  freshness  of  my  sorrow,  I 
was  startled  into  attention. 

"  Enough,"  he  said,  "  to  lamentation.  Your  mother  went 
to  death  as  to  a  bridal,  dying  where  her  husband  died.  It 
is  time,  Asenath,  to  think  of  the  survivors.  Follow  me  to 
the  next  room." 

I  followed  him,  like  a  person  in  a  dream;  he  made  me  sit 
by  the  fire,  he  gave  me  wine  to  drink ;  and  then,  pacing  the 
stone  floor,  he  thus  began  to  address  me: 

"  You  are  now,  my  child,  alone  in  the  world,  and  under 
the  immediate  watch  of  Brigham  Young.  It  would  be  your 
lot,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  to  become  the  fiftieth  bride 
of  some  ignoble  elder,  or  by  particular  fortune,  as  fortune  is 
counted  in  this  land,  to  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  presi- 
dent himself.  Such  a  fate  for  a  girl  like  you  were  worse 
than  death;  better  to  die  as  your  mother  died  than  to  sink 
daily  deeper  in  the  mire  of  this  pit  of  woman's  degradation. 

357 


THE   DYNAMITER 

But  is  escape  conceivable?  Your  father  tried;  and  you  be- 
held yourself  with  what  security  his  jailers  acted,  and  how 
a  dumb  drawing  on  a  rock  was  counted  a  sufficient  sentry 
over  the  avenues  of  freedom.  Where  your  father  failed,  will 
you  be  wiser  or  more  fortunate?  or  are  you,  too,  helpless  in 
the  toils?" 

I  had  followed  his  words  with  changing  emotion,  but  now 
I  believed  I  understood. 

"I  see,"  I  cried;  "you  judge  me  rightly.  I  must  fol- 
low where  my  parents  led;  and  oh!  I  am  not  only  willing, 
I  am  eager !  " 

"  No,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  not  death  for  you.  The 
flawed  vessel  we  may  break,  but  not  the  perfect.  No,  your 
mother  cherished  a  different  hope,  and  so  do  I.  I  see,"  he 
cried,  "  the  girl  develop  to  the  completed  woman,  the  plan 
reach  fulfillment,  the  promise — ay,  outdone !  I  could  not 
bear  to  arrest  so  lively,  so  comely  a  process.  It  was  your 
mother's  thought,"  he  added,  with  a  change  of  tone,  "  that 
I  should  marry  you  myself."  I  fear  I  must  have  shown  a 
perfect  horror  of  aversion  from  this  fate,  for  he  made  haste 
to  quiet  me.  "  Reassure  yourself,  Asenath,"  he  resumed. 
"  Old  as  I  am,  I  have  not  forgotten  the  tumultuous  fancies 
of  youth.  I  have  passed  my  days,  indeed,  in  laboratories; 
but  in  all  my  vigils  I  have  not  forgotten  the  tune  of  a 
young  pulse.  Age  asks  with  timidity  to  be  spared  intoler- 
able pain;  youth,  taking  fortune  by  the  beard,  demands  joy 
like  a  right.  These  things  I  have  not  forgotten ;  none, 
rather,  has  more  keenly  felt,  none  more  jealously  considered 
them ;  I  have  but  postponed  them  to  their  day.  See,  then ; 
you  stand  without  support;  the  only  friend  left  to  you, 
this  old  investigator,  old  in  cunning,  young  in  sympathy. 
Answer  me  but  one  question.  Are  you  free  from  the  en- 
tanglement of  what  the  world  calls  love?  Do  you  still  com- 
mand your  heart  and  purposes?  or  are  you  fallen  in  some 
bond-slavery  of  the  eye  and  ear?  " 

I  answered  him  in  broken  words ;  my  heart,  I  think  I  must 
have  told  him,  lay  with  my  dead  parents. 

"  It  is  enough,"  he  said.     "  It  has  been  my  fate  to  be 

358 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

called  on  often,  too  often,  for  those  services  of  which  we 
spoke  to-night ;  none  in  Utah  could  carry  them  so  well  to  a 
conclusion ;  hence  there  has  fallen  into  my  hands  a  certain 
share  of  influence  which  I  now  lay  at  your  service,  partly 
for  the  sake  of  my  dead  friends,  your  parents ;  partly  for 
the  interest  I  bear  you  in  your  own  right.  I  shall  send  you 
to  England,  to  the  great  city  of  London,  there  to  await  the 
bridegroom  I  have  selected.  He  shall  be  a  son  of  mine,  a 
3'oung  man  suitable  in  age  and  not  grossly  deficient  in  that 
quality  of  beauty  that  your  years  demand.  Since  your 
heart  is  free,  you  may  well  pledge  me  the  sole  promise  that 
I  ask  in  return  for  much  expense  and  still  more  danger ; 
to  await  the  arrival  of  that  bridegroom  with  the  delicacy  of 
a  wife." 

I  sat  awhile  stunned.  The  doctor's  marriages,  I  remem- 
bered to  have  heard,  had  been  unfruitful ;  and  this  added 
perplexity  to  my  distress.  But  I  was  alone,  as  he  had  said, 
alone  in  that  dark  land ;  the  thought  of  escape,  of  any  equal 
marriage,  was  already  enough  to  revive  in  me  some  dawn 
of  hope;  and  in  what  words  I  know  not,  I  accepted  the 
proposal. 

He  seemed  more  moved  by  ray  consent  than  I  could  rea- 
sonably have  looked  for.  "You  shall  see,"  he  cried;  "you 
shall  judge  for  yourself."  And  hurrying  to  the  next  room 
he  returned  with  a  small  portrait  somewhat  coarsely  done 
in  oils.  It  showed  a  man  in  the  dress  of  nearly  forty  years 
before,  young  indeed,  but  still  recognizable  to  be  the  doctor. 
"  Do  you  like  it.''  "  he  asked.  "  That  is  myself  when  I  was 
young.  My — my  boy  will  be  like  that,  like  but  nobler;  with 
such  health  as  angels  might  condescend  to  envy ;  and  a  man 
of  mind,  Asenath,  of  commanding  mind.  That  should  be  a 
man,  I  think,  that  should  be  one  among  ten  thousand.  A 
man  hke  that — one  to  combine  the  passions  of  youth  with 
the  restraint,  the  force,  the  dignity  of  age — one  to  fill  all 
the  parts  and  faculties,  one  to  be  man's  epitome — say,  will 
that  not  satisfy  the  needs  of  an  ambitious  girl.''  Say,  is 
not  that  enough.''  "  And  as  he  held  the  picture  close  before 
mj  eyes,  his  hands  shook. 

359 


THE  DYNAMITER 

I  told  hira  briefly  I  would  aslc  no  better,  for  I  was  trans- 
pierced with  this  display  of  fatherly  emotion;  but  even  as 
I  said  the  words,  the  most  insolent  revolt  surged  through 
my  arteries.  I  held  him  m  horror,  him,  his  portrait,  and  his 
son ;  and  had  there  been  any  choice  but  death  or  a  Mormon 
marriage,  I  declare  before  heaven  I  had  embraced  it. 

"  It  is  well,"  he  replied,  *'  and  I  had  rightly  counted  on 
your  spirit.  Eat,  then,  for  you  have  far  to  go."  S(0  saying, 
he  set  meat  before  me;  and  while  I  was  endeavoring  to  obey, 
he  left  the  room  and  returned  with  an  armful  of  coarse 
raiment.  "  There,"  said  he,  "  is  your  disguise.  I  leave  you 
to  your  toilet." 

The  clothes  had  probably  belonged  to  a  somewhat  lub- 
berly boy  of  fifteen ;  and  they  hung  about  me  like  a  sack, 
and  cruelly  hampered  my  moyement;S.  But  what  filled  me 
with  uncontrollable  shudderings,  was  the  problem  of  their 
origin  and  the  fate  of  the  lad  to  whom  they  had  belonged.  I 
had  scarcely  effected  the  exchange  when  the  doctor  returned, 
opened  a  back  window,  helped  jne  out  jnto  the  narrow  space 
between  the  house  and  the  overhanging  bluffs,  and  showed 
me  a  ladder  of  iron  footholds  mortised  in  the  rock. 
"  Mount,"  he  said,  swiftly.  "  Wlien  you  ^re  ait  tjie  summit, 
walk  so  far  as  j^ou  are  able,  in  tlie  shadow  of  the  smoke. 
The  smoke  will  bring  you,  sooner  or  later,  to  a  canyon ; 
follow  that  down,  and  you  will  find  a  man  with  two  horses. 
Him  you  will  implicitly  obey.  And  remember,  silence!  That 
machinery  which  I  now  put  in  motioij  for  your  service,  may 
by  one  word  be  turned  against  you.  Go;  heaven  prosper 
you !  " 

The  ascent  was  easy.  Arrived  at  the  top  «f  th<e  ^liff,  I 
saw  before  me  on  the  other  side  a  vast  and  gradual  declivity 
of  stone,  lying  bare  to  the  moon  ^ud  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains. Nowhere  was  any  vantage  or  coneeajm-ent ;  and  know- 
ing how  these  deserts  were  beset  with  spies,  I  made  haste  to 
veil  my  movements  under  the  blowing  trail  of  smoke.  Some- 
times it  swam  high,  rising  on  the  night  wind,  and  I  had  no 
more  substantial  curtain  than  its  moon-thrown  shadow ;  some- 
times again  it  crawled  upon  the  earth,  and  I  would  walk  in 

S60 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

it,  no  higher  than  to  my  shoulders,  like  some  mountain  fog. 
But  one  way  or  another,  the  smoke  of  that  ill-omened  fur- 
nace protected  the  first  step  of  my  escape,  and  led  me  unob- 
served to  the  canyon. 

There,  sure  enough,  I  found  a  taciturn  and  somber  man 
beside  a  pair  of  saddle-horses ;  and  thenceforward,  all  night 
long,  we  wandered  in  silence  by  the  most  occult  and  dan- 
gerous paths  among  the  mountains.  A  little  before  the  day- 
spring  we  took  refuge  in  a  wet  and  gusty  cavern  at  the 
bottom  of  a  gorge ;  lay  there  all  day  concealed ;  and  the  next 
night,  before  the  glow  had  faded  out  of  the  west,  resumed 
our  wanderings.  About  noon  we  stopped  again,  in  a  lawn 
upon  a  little  river,  where  was  a  screen  of  bushes ;  and  here 
my  guide,  handing  me  a  bundle  from  his  pack,  bade  me 
change  my  dress  once  more.  The  bundle  contained  clothing 
of  my  own,  taken  from  our  house,  with  such  necessaries  as  a 
comb  and  soap.  I  made  my  toilet  by  the  mirror  of  a  quiet 
pool;  and  as  I  was  so  doing  and  smiling  with  some  compla- 
cency to  see  myself  restored  to  my  own  image,  the  mountains 
rang  with  a  scream  of  far  more  than  human  piercingness ; 
and  while  I  still  stood  astonished,  there  sprang  up  and 
swiftly  increased  a  storm  of  the  most  awful  and  eaiih-rend- 
ing  sounds.  Shall  I  own  to  you  that  I  fell  upon  my  face 
and  shrieked?  And  yet  this  was  but  the  overland  train 
winding  among  the  near  mountains :  the  very  means  of  my 
salvation:  the  strong  wings  that  were  to  carry  me  from 
Utah! 

When  I  was  dressed,  the  guide  gave  me  a  bag,  which  con- 
tained, he  said,  both  money  and  papers ;  and  telling  me  that 
I  was  already  over  the  borders  in  the  territory  of  Wyoming, 
bade  me  follow  the  stream  until  I  reached  the  railway  station, 
half  a  mile  below.  "  Here."  he  added,  "  is  your  ticket  as  far 
as  Council  Bluffs.  The  East  express  will  pass  in  a  few 
hours."  With  that,  he  took  both  horses  and,  without  further 
words  or  any  salutation,  rode  off  by  the  waj^  that  we  had 
come. 

Three  hours  afterwards,  I  was  seated  on  the  end  plat- 
form of  the  train  as  it  swept  eastward  through  the  gorges 

361 


THE   DYNAMITER 

and  thundered  in  tunnels  of  the  mountain.  The  change  of 
scene,  the  sense  of  escape,  the  still  throbbing  terror  of  pur- 
suit— above  all,  the  astounding  magic  of  my  new  convey- 
ance, kept  me  from  any  logical  or  melancholy  thought.  I 
had  gone  to  the  doctor's  house  two  nights  before  prepared 
to  die,  prepared  for  worse  than  death;  what  had  passed, 
terrible  although  it  was,  looked  almost  bright  compared  to 
my  anticipations ;  and  it  was  not  till  I  had  slept  a  full  night 
in  the  flying  palace  car,  that  I  awoke  to  the  .sense  of  my  ir- 
reparable loss  and  to  some  reasonable  alarm  about  the  future. 
In  this  mood,  I  examined  the  contents  of  the  bag.  It  was 
well  supplied  with  gold;  it  contained  tickets  and  complete 
directions  for  my  journey  as  far  as  Liverpool,  and  a  long 
letter  from  the  doctor,  supplying  me  with  a  fictitious  name 
and  story,  recommending  the  most  guarded  silence,  and 
bidding  me  to  await  faithfully  the  coming  of  his  son.  All 
then  had  been  arranged  beforehand:  he  had  counted  upon 
my  consent,  and  what  was  tenfold  worse,  upon  my  mother's 
voluntary  death.  My  horror  of  my  only  friend,  my  aver- 
sion for  this  son  who  was  to  marry  me,  my  revolt  against  the 
whole  current  and  conditions  of  my  life,  were  now  complete. 
I  was  sitting  stupefied  by  my  distress  and  helplessness,  when 
to  my  joy,  a  very  pleasant  lady  offered  me  her  conversation. 
I  clutched  at  the  relief;  and  I  was  soon  glibly  telling  her 
the  story  in  the  doctor's  letter:  how  I  was  a  Miss  Gould,  of 
Nevada  City,  going  to  England  to  an  uncle,  what  money  I 
had,  what  family,  my  age,  and  so  forth,  until  I  had  ex- 
hausted my  instructions,  and  as  the  lady  still  continued  to 
ply  me  with  questions,  began  to  embroider  on  my  own  ac- 
count. This  soon  carried  one  of  my  inexperience  beyond  her 
depth;  and  I  had  already  remarked  a  shadow  on  the  lady's 
face,  when  a  gentleman  drew  near  and  very  civilly  addressed 
me: 

"Miss  Gould,  I  believe?"  said  he;  and  then,  excusing 
himself  to  the  lady  by  the  authority  of  my  guardian,  drew 
me  to  the  fore  platform  of  the  Pullman  car.  "  Miss  Gould," 
he  said  in  my  ear,  "  is  it  possible  that  you  suppose  yourself 
in  safety?     Let  me  completely  undeceive  you.     One  more 


THE    DESTROYING    ANGEL 

such  indiscretion  and  3'ou  return  to  Utah.  And,  in  the 
meanwhile,  if  this  woman  should  again  address  you,  you 
are  to  reply  with  these  words :  '  Madam,  I  do  not  like  you, 
and  I  will  be  obliged  if  you  will  suffer  me  to  choose  my  own 
associates.'  " 

Alas,  I  had  to  do  as  I  was  bid ;  this  lady,  to  whom  I 
already  felt  myself  drawn  with  the  strongest  cords  of  sym- 
pathy, I  dismissed  with  insult ;  and  thenceforward,  through 
all  that  day  I  sat  in  silence,  gazing  on  the  bare  plains  and 
swallowing  my  tears.  Let  that  suffice:  it  was  the  pattern 
of  my  journey.  Whether  on  the  train,  at  the  hotels,  or  on 
board  the  ocean  steamer,  I  never  exchanged  a  friendly  word 
with  any  fellow-traveler  but  I  was  certain  to  be  interrupted. 
In  every  place,  on  every  side,  the  most  unlikely  persons,  man 
or  woman,  rich  or  poor,  became  protectors  to  forward  me 
upon  my  journey  or  spies  to  observe  and  regulate  my  con- 
duct. Thus  I  crossed  the  States,  thus  passed  the  ocean,  the 
Mormon  Eye  still  following  my  movements ;  and  when  at 
length  a  cab  had  set  me  down  before  that  London  lodging- 
house  from  which  you  saw  me  fleeing  this  morning,  I  had 
already  ceased  to  struggle  and  ceased  to  hope. 

The  landlady,  like  every  one  else  through  all  that  journey, 
was  expecting  my  arrival.  A  fire  was  lighted  in  my  room, 
which  looked  upon  the  garden ;  there  were  books  on  the 
table,  clothes  in  the  drawers;  and  there  (I  had  almost  said 
with  contentment,  and  certainly  with  resignation)  I  saw 
month  follow  month  over  my  head.  At  times  my  landlady 
took  me  for  a  walk  or  an  excursion,  but  she  would  never 
suffer  me  to  leave  the  house  alone;  and  I,  seeing  that  she 
also  lived  under  the  shadow  of  that  widespread  Mormon 
terror,  felt  too  much  pity  to  resist.  To  the  child  born  on 
Mormon  soil,  as  to  the  man  who  accepts  the  engagements  of 
a  secret  order,  no  escape  is  possible ;  so  I  had  clearly  read, 
and  I  was  thankful  even  for  this  respite.  Meanwhile,  I 
tried  honestly  to  prepare  my  mind  for  my  approaching 
nuptials.  The  day  drew  near  when  my  bridegroom  was  to 
visit  me,  and  gratitude  and  fear  alike  obliged  me  to  consent. 
A  son  of  Doctor  Grierson's,  be  he  what  he  pleased,  must 

363 


THE   DYNA]\IITER 

still  be  young,  and  it  was  even  probable  he  should  be  hand- 
some ;  on  more  than  that,  I  felt  I  dared  not  reckon ;  and  in 
molding  my  mind  toward  consent  I  dwelt  the  more  carefully 
on  these  physical  attractions  which  I  felt  I  might  expect, 
and  averted  my  eyes  from  moral  or  intellectual  considera- 
tions. 

We  have  a  great  power  upon  our  spirits ;  and  as  time 
passed  I  worked  mj'self  into  a  frame  of  acquiescence,  nay, 
and  I  began  to  grow  impatient  for  the  hour.  At  night 
sleep  forsook  me ;  I  sat  all  day  by  the  fire,  absorbed  in 
dre«,ms,  conjuring  up  the  features  of  m}"^  husband,  and 
anticipating  in  fancy  the  touch  of  his  hand  and  the  sound 
of  his  voice.  In  the  dead  level  and  solitude  of  my  existence, 
this  was  the  one  eastern  window  and  the  one  door  of  hope. 
At  last,  I  had  so  cultivated  and  prepared  my  will,  that  I 
began  to  be  besieged  with  fears  upon  the  other  side.  Hov/ 
if  it  was  I  that  did  not  please?  How  if  this  imseen  lover 
should  turn  from  me  with  disaffection?  And  now  I  spent 
hours  before  the  glass,  studying  and  judging  my  attrac- 
tions, and  was  never  weary  of  changing  my  dress  or  ordering 
my  hair. 

When  the  day  came  I  was  long  about  my  toilet;  but  at 
last,  with  a  sort  of  hopeful  desperation,  I  had  to  own  that 
I  could  do  no  more,  and  must  now  stand  or  fall  by  nature. 
My  occupation  ended,  I  fell  a  prey  to  the  most  sickening 
impatience,  mingled  with  alarms ;  giving  ear  to  the  swelling 
rumor  of  the  streets,  and  at  each  change  of  sound  or  silence, 
starting,  shrinking,  and  coloring  to  the  brow.  Love  is  not 
to  be  prepared,  I  know,  without  some  knowledge  of  the 
object;  and  yet,  when  the  cab  at  last  rattled  to  the  door 
and  I  heard  my  visitor  mount  the  stairs,  such  was  the 
tumult  of  hopes  in  my  poor  bosom  that  love  itself  might 
have  been  proud  to  own  their  parentage.  The  door  opened, 
and  it  was  Doctor  Grierson  that  appeared.  I  believe  I  must 
have  screamed  aloud,  and  I  know,  at  least,  that  I  fell  faint- 
ing to  the  floor. 

A^Hien  I  came  to  myself  he  was  standing  over  me,  count- 
ing my  pulse.      "  I  have  startled  you,"  he  said.      "  A  dif- 


THE   DESTROYING   ANGEL 

ficulty  unforeseen — the  impossibility  of  obtaining  a  certain 
drug  in  its  full  purity — has  forced  me  to  resort  to  London 
unprepared.  I  regret  that  I  should  have  shown  myself  once 
more  without  those  poor  attractions  which  are  much,  per- 
haps, to  you,  but  to  me  are  no  more  considerable  than  rain 
that  falls  into  the  sea.  Youth  is  but  a  state,  as  passing  as 
that  syncope  from  which  you  are  but  just  awakened,  and, 
if  there  be  truth  in  science,  as  easy  to  recall ;  for  I  find, 
Asenath,  that  I  must  now  take  you  for  my  confidant.  Since 
my  first  years,  I  have  devoted  every  hour  and  act  of  life  to 
one  ambitious  task;  and  the  time  of  my  success  is  at  hand. 
In  these  new  countries,  where  I  was  so  long  content  to  stay, 
I  collected  indispensable  ingredients ;  I  have  fortified  myself 
on  every  side  from  the  possibility  of  error;  what  was  a 
dream  now  takes  the  substance  of  reality ;  and  when  I  offered 
you  a  son  of  mine  I  did  so  in  a  figure.  That  son — that  hus- 
band, Asenath,  is  myself — not  as  you  now  behold  me,  but 
restored  to  the  first  energy  of  youth.  You  think  me  mad.'' 
It  is  the  customary  attitude  of  ignorance.  I  will  not  argue; 
I  will  leave  facts  to  speak.  When  you  behold  me  purified, 
invigorated,  renewed,  restamped  in  the  original  image — 
when  you  recognize  in  me  (what  I  shall  be)  the  first  perfect 
expression  of  the  powers  of  mankind — I  shall  be  able  to 
laugh  with  a  better  grace  at  your  passing  and  natural  in- 
credulity. To  what  can  you  aspire — fame,  riches,  power, 
the  charm  of  youth,  the  dear-bought  wisdom  of  age — that 
I  shall  not  be  able  to  afford  you  in  perfection?  Do  not  de- 
ceive yourself.  I  already  excel  you  in  every  human  gift 
but  one :  when  that  gift  also  has  been  restored  to  me  you 
will  recognize  your  master." 

Hereupon,  consulting  his  watch,  he  told  me  he  must  now 
leave  me  to  myself;  and  bidding  me  consult  reason,  and  not 
girlish  fancies,  he  withdrew.  I  had  not  the  courage  to  move ; 
the  night  fell  and  found  me  still  where  he  had  laid  me  during 
my  faint,  my  face  buried  in  my  hands,  my  soul  drowned  in 
the  darkest  apprehensions.  Late  in  the  evening  he  returned, 
carr^^ing  a  candle,  and,  with  a  certain  irritable  tremor, 
bade  me  rise  and  sup.     "  Is  it  possible,"  he  added,  *'  that  I 

S65 


THE   DYNAMITER 

have  been  deceived  in  your  courage?  A  cowardly  girl  is  no 
fit  mate  for  me." 

I  flung  myself  before  him  on  my  knees,  and  with  floods 
of  tears  besought  him  to  release  me  from  this  engagement, 
assuring  him  that  my  cowardice  was  abject,  and  that  in 
every  point  of  intellect  and  character  I  was  his  hopeless  and 
derisible  inferior. 

"  Why,  certainly,"  he  replied.  "  I  know  you  better  than 
yourself;  and  I  am  well  enough  acquainted  with  human 
nature  to  understand  this  scene.  It  is  addressed  to  me,"  he 
added  with  a  smile,  "  in  my  character  of  the  still  untrans- 
formed.  But  do  not  alarm  yourself  about  the  future.  Let 
me  but  attain  my  end,  and  not  you  only,  Asenath,  but  every 
woman  on  the  face  of  the  earth  becomes  my  willing  slave." 

Thereupon  he  obliged  me  to  rise  and  eat ;  sat  down  with 
me  to  table ;  helped  and  entertained  me  with  the  attentions 
of  a  fashionable  host ;  and  it  was  not  till  a  late  hour,  that, 
bidding  me  courteously  good-night,  he  once  more  left  me 
alone  to  my  misery. 

In  all  this  talk  of  an  elixir  and  the  restoration  of  his 
youth,  I  scarce  knew  from  which  hypothesis  I  should  the 
more  eagerly  recoil.  If  his  hopes  reposed  on  any  base  of 
fact,  if  indeed,  by  some  abhorrent  miracle,  he  should  discard 
his  age,  death  were  my  only  refuge  from  that  most  un- 
natural, that  most  ungodly  union.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
these  dreams  were  merely  lunatic,  the  madness  of  a  life 
waxed  suddenly  acute,  my  pity  would  become  a  load  almost 
as  heavy  to  bear  as  my  revolt  against  the  marriage.  So 
passed  the  night,  in  alternations  of  rebellion  and  despair, 
of  hate  and  pity ;  and  with  the  next  morning  I  was  only  to 
comprehend  more  fully  my  enslaved  position.  For  though 
he  appeared  with  a  very  tranquil  countenance,  he  had  no 
sooner  observed  the  marks  of  grief  upon  my  brow  than  an 
answering  darkness  gathered  on  his  own.  "  Asenath,"  he 
said,  "  you  owe  me  much  already ;  with  one  finger  I  still 
hold  you  suspended  over  death;  my  life  is  full  of  labor  and 
anxiety ;  and  I  choose,"  said  he,  with  a  remarkable  accent 
of  command,  "  that  you  shall  greet  me  with  a  pleasant  face." 

366 


THE   DESTROYING   ANGEL 

He  never  needed  to  repeat  the  recommendation ;  from  that 
day  forward  I  was  always  ready  to  receive  him  with  appar- 
ent cheerfulness ;  and  he  rewarded  me  with  a  good  deal  of 
his  company,  and  almost  more  than  I  could  bear  of  his  con- 
fidence. He  had  set  up  a  laboratory  in  the  back  part  of  the 
house,  where  he  toiled  day  and  night  at  his  elixir,  and  he 
would  come  thence  to  visit  me  in  my  parlor;  now  with  pass- 
ing humors  of  discouragement;  now,  and  far  more  often, 
radiant  with  hope.  It  was  impossible  to  see  so  much  of  him, 
and  not  to  recognize  that  the  sands  of  his  life  were  running 
low ;  and  yet  all  the  time  he  would  be  laying  out  vast  fields 
of  future,  and  planning,  with  all  the  confidence  of  youth, 
the  most  unbounded  schemes  of  pleasure  and  ambition.  How 
I  replied  I  know  not ;  but  I  found  a  voice  and  words  to 
answer,  even  while  I  wept  and  raged  to  hear  him. 

A  week  ago  the  doctor  entered  my  room  with  the  marks 
of  great  exhilaration  contending  with  pitiful  bodily  weak- 
ness. "  Asenath,"  said  he,  "  I  have  now  obtained  the  last 
ingredient.  In  one  week  from  now  the  perilous  moment  of 
the  last  projection  will  draw  nigh.  You  have  once  before 
assisted,  although  unconsciously,  at  the  failure  of  a  similar 
experiment.  It  was  the  elixir  which  so  terribly  exploded 
one  night  when  you  were  passing  my  house ;  and  it  is  idle 
to  deny  that  the  conduct  of  so  delicate  a  process,  among  the 
million  jars  and  trepidations  of  so  great  a  city,  presents  a 
certain  element  of  danger.  From  this  point  of  view,  I  can 
not  but  regret  the  perfect  stillness  of  my  house  among  the 
deserts;  but  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  succeeded  in  proving 
that  the  singularly  unstable  equilibrium  of  the  elixir,  at  the 
moment  of  projection,  is  due  rather  to  the  impurity  than  to 
the  nature  of  the  ingredients ;  and  as  all  are  now  of  an  equal 
and  exquisite  nicety,  I  have  little  fear  for  the  result.  In  a 
week  then  from  to-day,  my  dear  Asenath,  this  period  of  trial 
will  be  ended."  And  he  smiled  upon  me  in  a  manner 
unusually  paternal. 

I  smiled  back  with  my  lips,  but  at  my  heart  there  raged 
the  blackest  and  most  unbridled  terror.  What  if  he  failed? 
And  oh,  tenfold  worse!  what  if  he  succeeded.''    What  detested 

567 


THE   DYNAMITER 

and  unnatural  changeling  would  appear  to  claim  my  hand? 
And  could  there,  I  asked  myself  with  a  dreadful  sinking,  be 
any  truth  in  his  boasts  of  an  assured  victory  over  my  reluc- 
tance? I  knew  him,  indeed,  to  be  masterful,  to  lead  my  life 
at  a  sign.  Suppose,  then,  this  experiment  to  succeed;  sup- 
pose him  to  return  to  me,  hideously  restored,  like  a  vampire 
in  a  legend;  and  suppose  that,  by  some  devilish  fascination. 
.  .  .  My  head  turned;  all  former  fears  deserted  me;  and  I 
felt  I  could  embrace  the  worst  in  preference  to  this. 

My  mind  was  instantly  made  up.  The  doctor's  presence 
in  London  was  justified  by  the  affairs  of  the  Mormon  polity. 
Often  in  our  conversation,  he  would  gloat  over  the  details  of 
that  great  organization,  which  he  feared  even  while  yet  he 
wielded  it;  and  would  remind  me,  that  even  in  the  humming 
labyrinth  of  London,  we  were  still  visible  to  that  unsleeping 
eye  in  Utah.  His  visitors,  indeed,  who  were  of  every  sort, 
from  the  missionary  to  the  destroying  angel,  and  seemed  to 
belong  to  every  rank  of  life,  had,  up  to  that  moment,  filled 
me  with  unmixed  repulsion  and  alarm.  I  knew  that  if  my 
secret  were  to  reach  the  ear  of  any  leader  my  fate  were 
sealed  beyond  redemption ;  and  yet  in  my  present  pass  of 
horror  and  despair,  it  was  to  these  very  men  that  I  turned 
for  help.  I  waylaid  upon  the  stair  one  of  the  Mormon  mis- 
sionaries, a  man  of  a  low  class,  but  not  inaccessible  to  pity ; 
told  him  I  scarce  remember  what  elaborate  fable  to  explain 
my  application;  and  by  his  intermediacy  entered  into  corre- 
spondence with  my  father's  family.  They  recognized  my 
claim  for  help,  and  on  this  very  day  I  was  to  begin  my 
escape. 

Last  night  I  sat  up  fully  dressed,  awaiting  the  result  of 
the  doctor's  labors,  and  prepared  against  the  worst.  The 
nights  at  this  season  and  in  this  northern  latitude  are  short ; 
and  I  had  soon  the  company  of  the  returning  daylight. 
The  silence  in  and  around  the  house  was  only  broken  by 
the  movements  of  the  doctor  in  the  laboratory;  to  these  I 
listened,  watch  in  hand,  awaiting  the  hour  of  my  escape, 
and  yet  consumed  by  anxiety  about  the  strange  experiment 
that  was  going  forward  overhead.     Indeed,  now  that  I  was 

368 


THE    DESTROYING   ANGEL 

conscious  of  some  protection  for  myself,  my  sympathies  had 
turned  more  directly  to  the  doctor's  side ;  I  caught  myself 
even  praying  for  his  success ;  and  when  some  hours  ago  a 
low,  peculiar  cry  reached  my  ears  from  the  laboratory,  I 
could  no  longer  control  my  impatience,  but  mounted  the 
stairs  and  opened  the  door. 

The  doctor  was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room ;  in 
his  hand  a  large,  round-bellied,  crystal  flask,  some  three 
parts  full  of  a  bright  amber-colored  liquid;  on  his  face  a 
rapture  of  gratitude  and  joy  unspeakable.  As  he  saw  me  he 
raised  the  flask  at  ami's  length.  "  Victory !  "  he  cried. 
"  Victory,  Asenath !  "  And  then — whether  the  flask  escaped 
his  trembling  fingers,  or  whether  the  explosion  was  spon- 
taneous, I  can  not  tell — enough  that  we  were  thrown,  I 
against  the  door-post,  the  doctor  into  the  comer  of  the 
room;  enough  that  we  were  shaken  to  the  soul  by  the  same 
explosion  that  must  have  startled  you  upon  the  street;  and 
that,  in  the  brief  space  of  an  indistinguishable  instant,  there 
remained  nothing  of  the  labors  of  the  doctor's  lifetime  but 
a  few  shards  of  broken  crystal  and  those  voluminous  and 
ill-smelhng  vapors  that  pursued  rne  in  my  flight. 


THE  sauiRE  OF  DAMES  (concluded). 

WHAT  with  the  lady's  animated  manner  and  dramatic 
conduct  of  her  voice,  Challoner  had  thrilled  to  every 
incident  with  genuine  emotion.  His  fancy,  which  was  not 
perhaps  of  a  very  hvely  character,  applauded  both  the  mat- 
ter and  the  style;  but  the  more  judicial  functions  of  his  mind 
refused  assent.  It  was  an  excellent  story ;  and  it  might  be 
true,  but  he  believed  it  was  not.  Miss  Fonblanque  was  a 
lady,  and  it  was  doubtless  possible  for  a  lady  to  wander 
from  the  truth;  but  how  was  a  gentleman  to  tell  her  so.'' 
His  spirits  for  some  time  had  been  sinking,  but  they  now 
fell  to  zero ;  and  long  after  her  voice  had  died  away  he  still 
sat  with  a  troubled  and  averted  countenance,  and  could  find 
no  form  of  words  to  thank  her  for  her  narrative.  His  mind, 
indeed,  was  empty  of  every  thing  beyond  a  dull  longing  for 
escape.  From  this  pause,  which  grew  more  embarrassing 
with  every  second,  he  was  roused  by  the  sudden  laughter  of 
the  lady.  His  vanity  was  alarmed ;  he  turned  and  faced 
her;  their  eyes  met;  and  he  caught  from  hers  a  spark  of 
such  frank  merriment  as  put  him  instantly  at  ease. 

"  You  certainly,"  he  said,  "  appear  to  bear  your  calam- 
ities with  excellent  spirit." 

"  Do  I  not.''  "  she  cried,  and  fell  once  more  into  delicious 
laughter.  But  from  this  access  she  more  speedily  recovered. 
"  This  is  all  very  well,"  said  she,  nodding  at  him  gravely, 
"  but  I  am  still  in  a  most  distressing  situation,  from  which, 
if  you  deny  me  your  help,  I  shall  find  it  difficult  indeed  to 
free  myself." 

At  this  mention  of  help  Challoner  fell  back  to  his  original 
gloom. 

"  My  sympathies  are  much  engaged  with  you,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  should  be  delighted,  I  am  sure.  But  our  position  is 
most  unusual;  and  circumstances  over  which  I  have,  I  can 

370 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

assure  you,  no  control,  deprive  me  of  the  power — the  pleas- 
ure— unless,  indeed,"  he  added,  somewhat  brightening  at  the 
thought,  "  I  were  to  recommend  you  to  the  care  of  the 
pohce?  " 

She  laid  her  hand  upon  his  arm  and  looked  hard  into  his 
eyes ;  and  he  saw  with  wonder  that,  for  the  first  time  since 
the  moment  of  their  meeting,  every  trace  of  color  had  faded 
from  her  cheek. 

"  Do  so,"  she  said,  "  and — weigh  my  words  well — you 
kill  me  as  certainly  as  with  a  knife." 

"  God  bless  me !  "  exclaimed  Challoner. 

"  Oh,"  she  cried,  "  I  can  see  you  disbelieve  my  story  and 
make  light  of  the  perils  that  surround  me ;  but  Avho  are  you 
to  judge?  My  family  share  my  apprehensions;  they  help 
me  in  secret ;  and  you  saw  yourself  by  what  an  emissary, 
and  in  what  a  place,  ihey  have  chosen  to  supply  me  with  the 
funds  for  my  escape.  I  admit  that  you  are  brave  and  clever 
and  hpve  impressed  me  most  favorably ;  but  how  are  you  to 
prefer  3'our  opinion  before  that  of  ni}^  uncle,  an  ex-minister 
of  state,  a  man  with  the  ear  of  the  Queen,  and  of  a  long 
political  experience.''  If  I  am  mad,  is  he.''  And  you  must 
allow  me,  besides,  a  special  claim  upon  your  help.  Strange 
as  you  may  think  my  story,  you  know  that  much  of  it  is  true; 
and  if  you  who  heard  the  explosion  and  saw  the  Mormon  at 
Victoria,  refuse  to  credit  and  assist  me,  to  whom  am  I  to 
turn.?" 

"  He  gave  3'ou  money  then?  "  asked  Challoner,  who  had 
been  dwelling  singly  on  that  fact. 

"  I  begin  to  interest  you,"  she  cried.  "  But,  frankly, 
you  are  condemned  to  help  me.  If  the  service  I  had  to  ask 
of  you  were  serious,  were  suspicious,  were  even  unusual,  I 
should  say  no  more.  But  what  is  it?  To  take  a  pleasure 
trip  (for  which,  if  you  will  suffer  me,  I  propose  to  pay) 
and  to  carry  from  one  lady  to  another  a  sum  of  money! 
What  can  be  more  simple?  " 

"  Is  the  sum,"  asked  Challoner,  "  considerable?  " 

She  produced  a  packet  from  her  bosom;  and  observing 
that  she  had  not  yet  found  time  to  make  the  count,  tore 

371 


THE  DYNAMITER 

open  the  cover  and  spread  upon  her  knees  a  considerable 
number  of  Bank  of  England  notes.  It  took  some  time  to 
make  the  reckoning,  for  the  notes  were  of  every  degree  of 
value ;  but  at  last,  and  counting  a  few  loose  sovereigns,  she 
made  out  the  sum  to  be  a  little  under  710Z.  sterling.  The 
sight  of  so  much  money  worked  an  immediate  revolution  in 
the  mind  of  Challoner. 

"  And  3^ou  propose,  madam,"  he  cried,  "  to  intrust  that 
money  to  a  perfect  stranger.''  " 

"  Ah !  "  said  she  with  a  charming  smile,  "  but  I  no  longer 
regard  you  as  a  stranger." 

*'  Madam,"  said  Challoner,  "  I  perceive  I  must  make  you 
a  confession.  Although  of  a  very  good  family — through 
my  mother,  indeed,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  patriot  Bruce 
— I  dare  not  conceal  from  you  that  my  affairs  are  deeply, 
very  deeply  involved.  I  am  in  debt,  my  pockets  are  prac- 
tically empty;  and,  in  short,  I  am  fallen  to  that  state  when 
a  considerable  sum  of  money  would  prove  to  many  men  an 
irresistible  temptation." 

"  Do  you  not  see,"  returned  the  young  lady,  "  that  by 
these  words  you  have  removed  my  last  hesitation.''  Take 
them."  And  she  thrust  the  notes  into  the  young  man's 
hand. 

He  sat  so  long,  holding  them,  like  a  baby  at  the  font, 
that  Miss  Fonblanque  once  more  bubbled  into  laughter. 

"  Pray,"  she  said,  "  hesitate  no  further ;  put  them  in  your 
pocket;  and  to  relieve  our  position  of  a  shadow  of  embar- 
rassment, tell  me  by  what  name  I  am  to  address  my  knight- 
errant,  for  I  find  myself  reduced  to  the  awkwardness  of  the 
pronoun." 

Had  borrowing  been  in  question,  the  wisdom  of  our 
ancestors  had  come  lightly  to  the  young  man's  aid;  but, 
upon  what  pretext  could  he  refuse  so  generous  a  trust? 
Upon  none,  he  saw,  that  was  not  unpardonably  wounding; 
and  the  bright  eyes  and  the  high  spirits  of  his  companion 
had  already  made  a  breach  in  the  rampart  of  Challoner's 
caution.  The  whole  thing,  he  reasoned,  might  be  a  mere 
mystification,  which  it  were  the  height  of  solemn  folly   to 

372 


I 


THE    SQUIRE    OF   DAMES 

resent.  On  the  other  hand  the  explosion,  the  interview  at 
the  public-house,  and  the  very  money  in  his  hands,  seemed 
to  prove  beyond  denial  the  existence  of  some  serious  danger; 
and  if  that  were  so,  could  he  desert  her?  There  was  a  choice 
of  risks :  the  risk  of  behaving  with  extraordinary  incivility 
and  unhandsomeness  to  a  lady,  and  the  risk  of  going  on  a 
fool's  errand.  The  story  seemed  false;  but  then  the  money 
was  undeniable.  The  whole  circumstances  were  questionable 
and  obscure;  but  the  lady  vvas  charming,  and  had  the  speech 
and  manners  of  society.  While  he  still  hung  in  the  wind, 
a  recollection  returned  upon  his  mind  with  some  of  the  dig- 
nity of  prophecy.  Had  he  not  promised  Somerset  to  break 
with  the  traditions  of  the  commonplace,  and  to  accept  the 
first  adventure  offered?     Well,  here  was  the  adventure. 

He  thrust  the  money  into  his  pocket. 

"  My  name  is  Challoner,"  said  he. 

"  Mr.  Challoner,"  she  replied,  "  you  have  come  very  gen- 
erously to  my  aid  when  all  was  against  me.  Though  I  am 
myself  a  very  humble  person,  my  family  commands  great 
interest;  and  I  do  not  think  you  will  repent  this  handsome 
action." 

Challoner  flushed  with  pleasure. 

"  I  imagine  that,  perhaps,  a  consulship,"  she  added,  her 
eyes  dwelling  on  him  with  a  judicial  admiration,  "  a  consul- 
ship in  some  great  town  or  capital — or  else But  we 

waste  time ;  let  us  set  about  the  work  of  my  delivery." 

She  took  his  arm  with  a  frank  confidence  that  went  to 
his  heart ;  and  once  more  laying  by  all  serious  thoughts, 
she  entertained  him,  as  they  crossed  the  park,  with  her 
agreeable  gayety  of  mind.  Near  the  IMarble  Arch  they 
found  a  hansom,  which  rapidly  conveyed  them  to  the 
terminus  at  Eustoh  Square ;  and  here,  in  the  hotel,  they  sat 
down  to  an  excellent  breakfast.  The  young  lad3'''s  first  step 
v/as  to  call  for  writing  materials  and  write,  upon  one  corner 
of  the  table,  a  hasty  note;  still,  as  she  did  so,  glancing  with 
smiles  at  her  companion.  "  Here,"  said  she,  "  here  is  the 
letter  which  will  introduce  you  to  my  cousin."  She  began 
to  fold  the  paper.     "  My  cousin,  although  I  have  never  seen 

37S 


THE   DYNAMITER 

her,  has  the  character  of  a  very  charming  woman  and  a  rec- 
ognized beauty ;  of  that  I  know  nothing,  but  at  least  she 
has  been  very  kind  to  me ;  so  has  my  lord  her  father ;  so 
have  you — kinder  than  all — kinder  than  I  can  bear  to  think 
of."  She  said  this  with  unusual  emotion ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  sealed  the  envelope.  "  Ah !  "  she  cried,  "  I  have  shut 
my  letter !  It  is  not  quite  courteous :  and  yet,  as  between 
friends,  it  is  perhaps  better  so.  I  introduce  you,  after  all, 
into  a  family  secret ;  and  though  you  and  I  are  already  old 
comrades,  you  are  still  unknown  to  my  uncle.  You  go,  then, 
to  this  address,  Richard  Street,  Glasgow ;  go,  please,  as  soon 
as  you  arrive;  and  give  this  letter  with  your  own  hands  into 
those  of  Miss  Fonblanque,  for  that  is  the  name  by  which  she 
is  to  pass.  When  we  next  meet,  you  will  tell  me  what 
you  think  of  her,"  she  added,  with  a  touch  of  the  provo- 
cative. 

"  Ah,"  said  Challoner,  almost  tenderly,  "  she  can  be 
nothing  to  me." 

"  You  do  not  know,"  replied  the  young  lady  with  a  sigh. 
"  By  the  by,  I  had  forgotten — it  is  very  childish,  and  I  am 
almost  ashamed  to  mention  it — ^but  when  you  see  Miss  Fon- 
blanque, you  will  have  to  make  yourself  a  little  ridiculous ; 
and  I  am  sure  the  part  in  no  way  suits  you.  We  had  agreed 
upon  a  watchword.  You  will  have  to  address  an  earl's 
daughter  in  these  words:  ^Nigger,  nigger,  never  die;'  but 
reassure  yourself,"  she  added,  laughing,  "  for  the  fair 
patrician  will  at  once  finish  the  quotation.  Come  now,  say 
your  lesson." 

"  '  Nigger,  nigger,  never  die,'  "  repeated  Challoner,  with 
undisguised  reluctance. 

Miss  Fonblanque  went  into  fits  of  laughter.  "  Excellent," 
said  she,  "  it  will  be  the  most  humorous  scene."  And  she 
laughed  again. 

"And  what  will  be  the  counterword.?  "  asked  Challoner, 
stiffly. 

"  I  will  not  tell  you  till  the  last  moment,"  said  she ;  "  for 
I  perceive  you  are  growing  too  imperious." 

Breakfast  over,  she  accompanied  the  young  man  to  the 

.374j 


I 


THE    SQUIRE    OF   DAMES 

platform,  bought  him  the  "  Graphic,"  the  "  Athon;Eum," 
and  a  paper-cutter,  and  stood  on  the  step  conversing  till  the 
whistle  sounded.  Then  she  put  her  head  into  the  carriage. 
"  Black  face  and  shining  eye!  "  she  whispered,  and  instantly 
leaped  down  upon  the  platform,  with  a  trill  of  gay  and 
musical  laughter.  As  the  train  steamed  out  of  the  great 
arch  of  glass,  the  sound  of  that  laughter  still  rang  in  the 
young  man's  ears. 

Challoner's  position  was  too  unusual  to  be  long  welcome 
to  his  mind.  He  found  himself  projected  the  whole  length 
of  England,  on  a  mission  beset  with  obscure  and  ridiculous 
circumstances,  and  yet,  by  the  trust  he  had  accepted,  ir- 
revocably bound  to  persevere.  How  easy  it  appeared,  in 
the  retrospect,  to  have  refused  the  whole  proposal,  returned 
the  money,  and  gone  forth  again  upon  his  own  affairs,  a 
free  and  happy  man!  And  it  was  now  impossible:  the  en- 
chantress who  had  held  him  with  her  eye  had  now  disap- 
peared, taking  his  honor  In  pledge;  and  as  she  had  failed 
to  leave  him  an  address,  he  was  denied  even  the  inglorious 
safety  of  retreat.  To  use  the  paper-knife,  or  even  to  read 
the  periodicals  with  which  she  had  presented  him,  was  to 
renew  the  bitterness  of  his  remorse;  and  as  he  was  alone  in 
the  compartment,  he  passed  the  day  staring  at  the  landscape 
in  impotent  repentance,  and  long  before  he  was  landed  on 
the  platform  of  St.  Enoch's,  had  fallen  to  the  lowest  and 
coldest  zones  of  self-contempt. 

As  he  was  hungry,  and  elegant  in  his  habits,  he  would 
have  preferred  to  dine  and  to  remove  the  stains  of  travel; 
but  the  words  of  the  young  lady,  and  his  own  impatient 
eagerness,  would  suffer  no  delay.  In  the  late,  luminous  and 
lamp-starred  dusk  of  the  summer  evening,  he  accordingly 
set  forward  with  brisk  steps. 

The  street  to  which  he  was  directed  had  first  seen  the  day 
in  the  character  of  a  row  of  small  suburban  villas  on  a  hill- 
side; but  the  extension  of  the  city  had,  long  since  and  on 
every  hand,  surrounded  it  with  miles  of  streets.  From  the 
top  of  the  hill  a  range  of  very  tall  buildings,  densely  in- 
habited by  the  very  poorest  classes  of  the  population  and 

S75, 


THE   DYNAMITER 

variegated  by  drying-poles  from  every  second  window,  over- 
plumbed  the  villas  and  their  little  gardens  like  a  seaboard 
cliff.  But  still,  under  the  grime  of  years  of  city  smoke, 
these  antiquated  cottages,  with  their  Venetian  blinds  and 
rural  porticos,  retained  a  somewhat  melancholy  savor  of 
the  past. 

The  street,  when  Challoner  entered  it,  was  perfectly  de- 
serted. From  hard  by,  indeed,  the  sound  of  a  thousand 
footfalls  filled  the  ear;  but  in  Richard  Street  itself  there 
was  neither  light  nor  sound  of  human  habitation.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  neighborhood  weighed  heavily  on  the  mind 
of  the  young  man ;  once  more,  as  in  the  streets  of  London, 
he  was  impressed  with  the  sense  of  city  deserts ;  and  as  he 
approached  the  number  indicated,  and  somewhat  falteringly 
rang  the  bell,  his  heart  sank  within  him. 

The  bell  was  ancient,  like  the  house;  it  had  a  thin  and 
garrulous  note ;  and  it  was  some  time  before  it  ceased  to 
sound  from  the  rear  quarters  of  the  building.  Following 
upon  this  an  inner  door  was  stealthily  opened,  and  careful 
and  catlike  steps  drew  near  along  the  hall.  Challoner,  sup- 
posing he  was  to  be  instantly  admitted,  produced  his  letter 
and,  as  well  as  he  was  able,  prepared  a  smiling  face.  To 
his  indescribable  surprise,  however,  the  footsteps  ceased,  and 
then,  after  a  pause  and  with  the  like  stealthiness,  withdrew 
once  more,  and  died  away  in  the  interior  of  the  house.  A 
second  time  the  young  man  rang  violently  at  the  bell ;  a 
second  time,  to  his  keen  hearkening,  a  certain  bustle  of  dis- 
creet footing  moved  upon  the  hollow  boards  of  the  old  villa ; 
and  again  the  faint-hearted  garrison  only  drew  near  to 
retreat.  The  cup  of  the  visitor's  endurance  was  now  full 
to  overflowing ;  and,  committing  the  whole  family  of  Fon- 
blanque  to  every  mood  and  shade  of  condemnation,  he  turned 
upon  his  heel  and  redescended  the  steps.  Perhaps  the  mover 
in  the  house  was  watching  from  a  window,  and  plucked  up 
courage  at  the  sight  of  this  desistance;  or  perhaps,  where 
he  lurked  trembling  in  the  back  part  of  the  villa,  reason  in 
its  own  right  had  conquered  his  alarms.  Challoner,  at  least, 
had  scarce  set  foot  upon  the  pavement  when  he  was  arrested 

376 


I 


THE    SQUIRE    OF   DAMES 

by  the  sound  of  the  withdrawal  of  an  inner  bolt ;  one  fol- 
lowed another,  rattling  in  their  sockets ;  the  key  turned 
harshly  in  the  lock;  the  door  opened;  and  there  appeared 
upon  the  threshold  a  man  of  a  very  stalwart  figure  in  his 
shirt  sleeves.  He  was  a  person  neither  of  great  manly  beauty 
nor  of  a  refined  exterior;  he  was  not  the  man  in  ordinary 
moods,  to  attract  the  eyes  of  the  observer ;  but  as  he  now 
stood  in  the  doorway,  he  was  marked  so  legibly  with  the 
extreme  passion  of  terror  that  Challoner  stood  wonder- 
struck.  For  a  fraction  of  a  minute  they  gazed  upon  each 
other  in  silence ;  and  then,  the  man  of  the  house,  with  ashen 
lips  and  gasping  voice,  inquired  the  business  of  his  visitor. 
Challoner  replied,  in  tones  from  which  he  strove  to  banish 
his  surprise,  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  to  a  certain 
Miss  Fonblanque.  At  this  name,  as  at  a  talisman,  the  man 
fell  back  and  impatiently  invited  him  to  enter ;  and  no  sooner 
had  the  adventurer  crossed  the  threshold,  than  the  door  was 
closed  behind  him  and  his  retreat  cut  off. 

It  was  already  long  past  eight  at  night ;  and  though  the 
late  twilight  of  the  north  still  lingered  in  the  streets,  in  the 
passage  it  was  already  groping  dark.  The  man  led  Chal- 
loner directly  to  a  parlor  looking  on  the  garden  to  the  back. 
Here  he  had  apparently  been  supping;  for  by  the  light  of 
a  tallow  dip,  the  table  was  seen  to  be  covered  with  a  napkin, 
and  set  out  with  a  quart  of  bottled  ale  and  the  heel  of  a 
Gouda  cheese.  The  room,  on  the  other  hand,  was  furnished 
with  faded  solidity,  and  the  walls  were  lined  with  scholarly 
and  costly  volumes  in  glazed  cases.  The  house  must  have 
been  taken  furnished ;  for  it  had  no  congruity  with  this  man 
of  the  shirt  sleeves  and  the  mean  supper.  As  for  the  earl's 
daughter,  the  earl  and  the  visionary  consulships  in  foreign 
cities,  they  had  long  ago  begun  to  fade  in  Challoner's 
imagination.  Like  Doctor  Grierson  and  the  Mormon  angels, 
they  were  plainly  woven  of  the  stuff  of  dreams.  Not  an 
illusion  remained  to  the  knight-errant ;  not  a  hope  was  left 
him,  but  to  be  speedily  relieved  from  this  disreputable 
business. 

The  man  had  continued  to  regard  his  visitor  with  undis- 

S77 


THE   DYNAMITER 

guised  anxiety,  and  began  once  more  to  press  him  for  his 
errand. 

"  I  am  here,"  said  Challoner,  "  simply  to  do  a  service 
between  two  ladies ;  and  I  must  ask  you,  without  further  de- 
lay, to  summon  Miss  Fonblanque,  into  whose  hands  alone  I 
am  authorized  to  deliver  the  letter  that  I  bear." 

A  growing  wonder  began  to  mingle  on  the  man's  face 
with  the  lines  of  solicitude.  "  I  am  Miss  Fonblanque,"  he 
said;  and  then,  perceiving  the  effect  of  this  communication, 
*' Good  God!"  he  cried,  "what  are  you  staring  at.^*  I  tell 
you,  I  am  Miss  Fonblanque." 

Seeing  the  speaker  wore  a  chin-beard  of  considerable 
length,  and  the  remainder  of  his  face  was  blue  with  shaving, 
Challoner  could  only  suppose  himself  the  subject  of  a  jest. 
He  was  no  longer  under  the  spell  of  the  young  lady's  pres- 
ence; and  with  men,  and  above  all  with  his  inferiors,  he  was 
capable  of  some  display  of  spirit. 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  pretty  roundly,  "  I  have  put  myself  to 
great  inconvenience  for  persons  of  whom  I  know  too  little, 
and  I  begin  to  be  weary  of  the  business.  Either  you  shall 
immediately  summon  Miss  Fonblanque,  or  I  leave  this  house 
and  put  myself  under  the  direction  of  the  police." 

"  This  is  horrible !  "  exclaimed  the  man.  "  I  declare  be- 
fore Heaven  I  am  the  person  meant,  but  how  shall  I  convince 
you.''  It  must  have  been  Clara,  I  perceive,  that  sent  you  on 
this  errand — a  mad  woman,  who  jests  with  the  most  deadly 
interests ;  and  here  we  are  incapable,  perhaps,  of  an  agree- 
ment, and  Heaven  knows  what  may  depend  on  our 
delay ! " 

He  spoke  with  a  really  startling  earnestness ;  and  at  the 
same  time  there  flashed  upon  the  mind  of  Challoner  the 
ridiculous  jingle  which  was  to  serve  as  a  pass-word.  "  This 
may,  perhaps,  assist  you,"  he  said;  and  then,  with  some 
embarrassment :  "  '  Nigger,  nigger,  never  die.'  " 

A  light  of  relief  broke  upon  the  troubled  countenance  of 
the  man  with  the  chin-beard.  "  *  Black  face  and  shining 
eye  ' — give  me  the  letter,"  he  panted  in  one  gasp : 

"  Well,"    said   Challoner,   though   still   with   some   reluc- 

S78 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

tance,  "  I  suppose  I  must  regard  you  as  the  proper  recipient ; 
and  though  I  may  justly  complain  of  the  spirit  in  which  I 
have  been  treated,  I  am  only  too  glad  to  be  done  with  all 
responsibility.     Here  it  is,"  and  he  produced  the  envelope. 

The  man  leaped  upon  it  like  a  beast,  and  with  hands  that 
trembled  in  a  manner  painful  to  behold,  tore  it  open  and 
unfolded  the  letter.  As  he  read,  terror  seemed  to  mount 
upon  him  to  the  pitch  of  nightmare.  He  struck  one  hand 
upon  his  brow,  while  with  the  other,  as  if  unconsciously,  he 
crumpled  the  paper  to  a  ball.  "  My  gracious  powers !  "  he 
cried ;  and  then,  dashing  to  the  window,  which  stood  open  on 
the  garden,  he  clapped  forth  his  head  and  shoulders,  and 
whistled  long  and  shrill.  Challoner  fell  back  into  a  corner, 
and  resolutely  grasping  his  staff,  prepared  for  the  most 
desperate  events ;  but  the  thoughts  of  the  man  with  the  chin- 
beard  were  far  removed  from  violence.  Turning  again  into 
the  room,  and  once  more  beholding  his  visitor,  whom  he 
appeared  to  have  forgotten,  he  fairly  danced  with  trepida- 
tion. "  Impossible !  "  he  cried.  "  Oh,  quite  impossible ! 
O  Lord,  I  have  lost  my  head."  And  then,  once  more  striking 
his  hand  upon  his  brow,  "  The  money ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  Give  me  the  money." 

"  My  good  friend,"  replied  Challoner,  "  this  is  a  very 
painful  exhibition ;  and  until  I  see  you  reasonably  master  of 
yourself,  I  decline  to  proceed  with  any  business." 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  said  the  man.  "  I  am  of  a  very 
nervous  habit;  a  long  course  of  the  dumb  ague  has  under- 
mined my  constitution.  But  I  know  you  have  money ;  it  may 
be  still  the  saving  of  me;  and  oh,  dear  young  gentleman,  in 
pity's  name  be  expeditious  !  " 

Challoner,  sincerely  uneasy  as  he  was,  could  scarce  refrain 
from  laughter ;  but  he  was  himself  in  a  hurry  to  be  gone, 
and  without  more  delay  produced  the  money.  "  You  will 
find  the  sum,  I  trusty  correct,"  he  observed ;  "  and  let  me  ask 
you  to  give  me  a  receipt." 

But  the  man  heeded  him  not.  He  seized  the  monej',  and 
disregarding  the  sovereigns  that  rolled  loose  upon  the  floor, 
thrust  the  bundle  of  notes  into  his  pocket. 

379 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  A  receipt,"  repeated  Challoner  with  some  asperity,  "  I 
insist  on  a  receipt." 

"Receipt?"  repeated  the  man  a  httle  wildly.  "A  re- 
ceipt.?    Immediately!     Await  me  here." 

Challoner,  in  reply,  begged  the  gentleman  to  lose  no  un- 
necessary time,  as  he  was  himself  desirous  of  catching  a  par- 
ticular train. 

"  Ah,  by  God,  and  so  am  I ! "  exclaimed  the  man  with 
the  chin-beard ;  and  with  that  he  was  gone  out  of  the  room, 
and  had  rattled  up  stairs,  four  at  a  time,  to  the  upper  story 
of  the  villa. 

"  This  is  certainly  a  most  amazing  business,"  thought 
Challoner,  "  certainly  a  most  disquieting  affair ;  and  I  can 
not  conceal  from  myself  that  I  have  become  mixed  up  with 
either  lunatics  or  malefactors.  I  may  truly  thank  my  stars 
that  I  am  so  nearly  and  so  creditably  done  with  it."  Thus 
thinking  and  perhaps  remembering  the  episode  of  the  whis- 
tle, he  turned  to  the  open  window.  The  garden  was  still 
faintly  clear;  he  could  distinguish  the  stairs  and  terraces 
with  which  the  small  domain  had  been  adorned  by  former 
owners,  and  the  blackened  bushes  and  dead  trees  that  had 
once  afforded  shelter  to  the  country  birds ;  beyond  these  he 
saw  the  strong  retaining  wall,  some  thirty  feet  in  height, 
Avhich  inclosed  the  garden  to  the  back;  and  again  above 
that,  the  pile  of  dingy  buildings  rearing  its  frontage  high 
into  the  night.  A  peculiar  object  lying  stretched  upon  the 
lawn  for  some  time  baffled  his  eyesight;  but  at  length  he 
made  it  out  to  be  a  long  ladder,  or  series  of  ladders  bound 
into  one;  he  was  still  wondering  of  what  service  so  great 
an  instrument  could  be  in  such  a  scant  inclosure,  when  he 
was  recalled  to  himself  by  the  noise  of  some  one  running 
violently  down  the  stairs.  This  was  followed  by  the  sudden, 
clamorous  banging  of  the  house  door,  and  that  again,  by 
rapid  and  retreating  footsteps  in  the  street. 

Challoner  sprang  into  the  passage.  He  ran  from  room 
to  room,  up  stairs  and  dov/n  stairs ;  and  in  that  old  dingy 
and  worm-eaten  house,  he  found  himself  alone.  Only  in  one 
apartment  looking  to  the  front,  were  there  any  traces   of 

380 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

the  late  inhabitant :  a  bed  that  had  been  recently  slept  in 
and  not  made,  a  chest  of  drawers  disordered  by  a  hasty 
search,  and  on  the  floor  a  roll  of  crumpled  paper.  This  he 
picked  up.  The  light  in  this  upper  story  looking  to  the 
front  was  considerably  brighter  than  in  the  parlor;  and  he 
was  able  to  make  out  that  the  paper  bore  the  mark  of  the 
hotel  at  Euston,  and  even,  by  peering  closely,  to  decipher  the 
following  lines  in  a  very  elegant  and  careful  female  hand: 

"  Dear  M'Guire, — It  is  certain  your  retreat  is  known. 
We  have  just  had  another  failure,  clockwork  thirty  hours 
too  soon,  with  the  usual  humiliating  result.  Zero  is  quite 
disheartened.  We  are  all  scattered,  and  I  could  find  no  one 
but  the  ■solemn  ass  who  brings  you  this  and  the  money.  I 
would  love  to  see  your  meeting. — Ever  yours, 

"  Shining  Eye." 

Challoner  was  stricken  to  the  heart.  He  perceived  by 
what  facility,  by  what  unmanly  fear  of  ridicule,  he  had  been 
brought  down  to  be  the  gull  of  this  intriguer ;  and  his  wrath 
flowed  forth  in  almost  equal  measure  against  himself,  against 
the  woman,  and  against  Somerset,  whose  idle  counsels  had 
impelled  him  to  embark  on  that  adventure.  2\t  the  same  time 
a  great  and  troubled  curiosity,  and  a  certain  chill  of  fear, 
possessed  his  spirit.  The  conduct  of  the  man  with  the  chin- 
beard,  the  terms  of  the  letter,  and  the  explosion  of  the  early 
morning,  fitted  together  like  parts  in  some  obscure  and  mis- 
chievous imbroglio.  Evil  was  certainly  afoot ;  evil,  secrecy, 
terror  and  falsehood  were  the  conditions  and  the  passions 
of  the  people  among  whom  he  had  begun  to  move,  like  a  blind 
puppet ;  and  he  who  began  as  a  puppet,  his  experience  told 
him,  was  often  doomed  to  perish  as  a  victim. 

From  the  stupor  of  deep  thought  into  which  he  had 
glided  with  the  letter  in  his  hand,  he  was  awakened  by  the 
clatter  of  the  bell.  He  glanced  from  the  window ;  and,  con- 
ceive his  horror  and  surprise  when  he  beheld,  clustered  on 
the  steps,  in  the  front  garden  and  on  the  pavement  of  the 
street,  a  fonnidable  posse  of  police  I     He  started  to  the  full 

381 


THE   DYNAMITER 

possession  of  his  powers  and  courage.  Escape,  and  escape 
at  any  cost,  was  the  one  idea  that  possessed  him.  Swiftly 
and  silently  he  redescended  the  creaking  stairs ;  he  was  al- 
ready in  the  passage  when  a  second  and  more  imperious 
summons  from  the  door  awoke  the  echoes  of  the  empty  house ; 
nor  had  the  bell  ceased  to  jangle  before  he  had  bestridden 
the  window-sill  of  the  parlor  and  was  lowering  himself  into 
the  garden.  His  coat  was  hooked  upon  the  iron  flower 
basket;  for  a  moment  he  hung  dependent,  heels  and  head 
below ;  and  then,  with  the  noise  of  rending  cloth  and  followed 
by  several  pots,  he  dropped  upon  the  sod.  Once  more  the 
bell  was  rung,  and  now  with  furious  and  repeated  peals. 
The  desperate  Challoner  turned  his  eyes  on  every  side.  They 
fell  upon  the  ladder,  and  he  ran  to  it,  and  with  strenuous  but 
unavailing  effort  sought  to  raise  it  from  the  ground.  Sud- 
denly the  weight,  which  was  thus  resisting  his  whole  strength, 
began  to  lighten  in  his  hands ;  the  ladder,  like  a  thing  of 
life,  reared  its  bulk  from  off  the  sod ;  and  Challoner,  leaping 
back  with  a  cry  of  almost  superstitious  terror,  beheld  the 
whole  structure  mount,  foot  by  foot,  against  the  face  of  the 
retaining  wall.  At  the  same  time,  two  heads  were  dimly 
visible  above  the  parapet,  and  he  was  hailed  by  a  guarded 
whistle.  Something  in  its  modulation  recalled,  like  an  echo, 
the  whistle  of  the  man  with  the  chin-beard. 

Had  he  chanced  upon  a  means  of  escape  prepared  before- 
hand by  those  very  miscreants,  whose  messenger  and  gull  he 
had  become.-^  Was  this,  indeed,  a  means  of  safety,  or  but 
the  starting-point  of  further  complication  and  disaster  .'^ 
He  paused  not  to  reflect.  Scarce  was  the  ladder  reared  to 
its  full  length  than  he  had  sprung  already  on  the  rounds ; 
hand  over  hand,  swift  as  an  ape,  he  scaled  the  tottering 
stairway.  Strong  arms  received,  embraced,  and  helped  him ; 
he  was  lifted  and  set  once  more  upon  the  earth;  and  with 
the  spasm  of  his  alarm  yet  unsubsided,  found  himself,  in 
the  company  of  two  rough-looking  men,  in  the  paved  back 
yard  of  one  of  the  tall  houses  that  crowned  the  summit  of  the 
hill.  Meanwhile,  from  below,  the  note  of  the  bell  had  been 
succeeded  by  the  sound  of  vigorous  and  redoubling  blows. 

382 


j| 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

**  Are  you  all  out?"  asked  one  of  his  companions;  and 
as  soon  as  he  had  babbled  an  answer  in  the  affirmative,  the 
rope  was  cut  from  the  top  round,  and  the  ladder  thrust 
roughly  back  into  the  garden,  where  it  fell  and  broke  with 
clattering  reverberations.  Its  fall  was  hailed  with  many 
broken  cries  ;  for  the  whole  of  Richard  Street  was  now  in  high 
emotion,  the  people  crowding  to  the  windows  or  clambering 
on  the  garden  walls.  The  same  man  who  had  already  ad- 
dressed Challoner  seized  him  by  the  arm;  whisked  him 
through  the  basement  of  the  house  and  across  the  street 
upon  the  other  side ;  and  before  the  unfortunate  adventurer 
had  time  to  realize  his  situation  a  door  was  opened  and  he 
was  thrust  into  a  low  and  dark  compartment. 

"  Bedad,"  observed  his  guide,  "  there  was  no  time  to  lose. 
Is  iM'Guire  gone,  or  was  it  you  that  whistled.''  " 

"  M'Guire  is  gone,"  said  Challoner. 

The  guide  now  struck  a  light.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "  this 
will  never  do.  You  dare  not  go  upon  the  streets  in  such  a 
figure.  Wait  quietly  here  and  I  will  bring  you  something 
decent." 

With  that  the  man  was  gone,  and  Challoner,  his  attention 
thus  rudely  awakened,  began  ruefully  to  consider  the  havoc 
that  had  been  worked  in  his  attire.  His  hat  was  gone ;  his 
trowsers  were  cruelly  ripped;  and  the  best  part  of  one  tail 
of  his  very  elegant  frock-coat  had  been  left  hanging  from 
the  iron  crockets  of  the  window.  He  had  scarce  had  time 
to  measure  these  disasters  when  his  host  re-entered  the  apart- 
ment and  proceeded,  without  a  word,  to  envelope  the  refined 
and  urbane  Challoner  in  a  long  ulster  of  the  cheapest  ma- 
terial and  of  a  pattern  so  gross  and  vulgar  that  his  spirit 
sickened  at  the  sight.  This  calumnious  disguise  was  cro^vned 
and  completed  by  a  soft  felt  hat  of  the  Tyrolese  design  and 
several  sizes  too  small.  At  another  moment  Challoner  would 
simply  have  refused  to  issue  forth  upon  the  world  thus  trav- 
estied ;  but  the  desire  to  escape  from  Glasgow  was  now  too 
strongly  and  too  exclusively  impressed  upon  his  mind.  With 
one  haggard  glance  at  the  spotted  tails  of  his  new  coat,  he 
inquired  what  was  to  pay  for  this  accouterment.     The  man 

383 


THE   DYNAMITER 

assured  him  that  the  whole  expense  was  easily  met  from 
funds  in  his  possession,  and  begged  him,  instead  of  wasting 
time,  to  make  his  best  speed  out  of  the  neighborhood. 

The  young  man  was  not  loath  to  take  the  hint:  True  to 
his  usual  courtesy,  he  thanked  the  speaker  and  complimented 
him  upon  his  taste  in  greatcoats ;  and  leaving  the  man  some- 
what abashed  by  these  remarks  and  the  manner  of  their  de- 
liver}^, he  hurried  forth  into  the  lamp-lighted  city.  The  last 
train  was  gone  ere,  after  many  deviations,  he  had  reached 
the  terminus.  Attired  as  he  was  he  dared  not  present  himself 
at  any  reputable  inn ;  and  he  felt  keenly  that  the  unassum- 
ing dignity  of  his  demeanor  would  serve  to  attract  atten- 
tion, perhaps  mirth,  and  possibly  suspicion,  in  any  humbler 
hostelry.  He  was  thus  condemned  to  pass  the  solemn  and 
uneventful  hours  of  a  whole  night  in  pacing  the  streets  of 
Glasgow ;  supperless ;  a  figure  of  fun  for  all  beholders ;  wait- 
ing the  dawn,  with  hope  indeed,  but  with  unconquerable 
shrinkings ;  and  above  all  things,  filled  with  a  profound  sense 
of  the  folly  and  weakness  of  his  conduct.  It  may  be  con- 
ceived with  what  curses  he  assailed  the  memory  of  the  fair 
narrator  of  Hyde  Park ;  her  parting  laughter  rang  in  his 
ears  all  night  with  damning  mockery  and  iteration;  and 
when  he  could  spare  a  thought  from  this  chief  artificer  of 
his  confusion,  it  was  to  expend  his  wrath  on  Somerset  and 
the  career  of  the  amateur  detective.  With  the  coming  of 
day,  he  found  in  a  shy  milk-shop  the  means  to  appease  hi= 
hunger. 

There  were  still  many  hours  to  wait  before  the  depart- 
ure of  the  south  express ;  these  he  passed  wandering  with 
indescribable  fatigue  in  the  obscurer  by-streets  of  the  city ; 
and  at  length  slipped  quietly  into  the  station  and  took 
his  place  in  the  darkest  corner  of  a  third-class  carriage. 
Here,  all  day  long,  he  jolted  on  the  bare  boards,  distressed 
by  heat  and  continually  re-awakened  from  uneasy  slumbers. 
By  the  half  return  ticket  in  his  purse,  he  was  entitled  to 
make  the  journey  on  the  easy  cushions  and  with  the  ample 
space  of  the  first-class ;  but  alas !  in  his  absurd  attire  he 
durst  not  for  decency  commingle  with  his  equals ;  and  this 

384 


J 


THE    SQUIRE    OF    DAMES 

small  annoyance,  coming  last  in  such  a  series  of  disasters, 
cut  him  to  the  heart. 

That  night,  when,  in  his  Putney  lodging,  he  reviewed  the 
expense,  anxiety,  and  weariness  of  his  adventure;  when  he 
beheld  the  ruins  of  his  last  good  trowsers  and  his  last  pre- 
sentable coat ;  and  above  all,  when  his  eye  by  any  chance 
alighted  on  the  Tyrolese  hat  or  the  degrading  vilster,  his 
heart  would  overflow  with  bitterness,  and  it  was  only  by  a 
serious  call  on  his  pliilosophy  that  he  maintained  the  dignity 
of  his  demeanor. 


§83 


fOMERSET's    adventure:    THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

MR.  PAUL  SOMERSET  was  a  young  gentleman  of  a 
lively  and  fiery  imagination,  with  very  small  capacity 
for  action.  He  was  one  who  lived  exclusively  in  dreams  and 
in  the  future:  the  creature  of  his  own  theories,  and  an  actor 
in  his  own  romances.  From  the  cigar  divan  he  proceeded 
to  parade  the  streets,  still  heated  with  the  fire  of  his  elo- 
quence, and  scouting  upon  every  side  for  the  offer  of  some 
fortunate  adventure.  In  the  continual  stream  of  passers-by, 
on  the  sealed  fronts  of  houses,  on  the  posters  that  covered 
the  hoardings,  and  in  every  lineament  and  throb  of  the  great 
city  he  saw  a  mysterious  and  hopeful  hieroglyph.  But  al- 
though the  elements  of  adventure  were  streaming  by  him  as 
thick  as  drops  of  water  in  the  Thames,  it  was  in  vain  that, 
now  with  a  beseeching,  now  with  something  of  a  bragga- 
docio air,  he  courted  and  provoked  the  notice  of  the  pas- 
sengers ;  in  vain  that,  putting  fortune  to  the  touch,  he  even 
thrust  himself  into  the  way  and  came  into  direct  collision 
with  those  of  the  more  promising  demeanor.  Persons  brim- 
ful of  secre'i;s,  persons  pining  for  aff^ection,  persons  perish- 
ing for  lack  of  help  or  counsel,  he  was  sure  he  could  perceive 
on  every  side;  but  by  some  contrariety  of  fortune,  each 
passed  upon  his  way  without  remarking  the  young  gentle- 
man, and  went  further  (surely  to  fare  worse!)  in  quest  of 
the  confidant,  the  friend,  or  the  adviser.  To  thousands  he 
must  have  turned  an  appealing  countenance,  and  yet  not 
one  regarded  him. 

A  light  dinner,  eaten  to  the  accompaniment  of  his  im- 
petuous aspirations,  broke  in  upon  the  series  of  his  attempts 
on  fortune ;  and  when  he  returned  to  the  task,  the  lamps 
were  already  lighted,  and  the  nocturnal  crowd  was  dense 
upon  the  pavement.  Before  a  certain  restaurant,  whose 
name  will  readily   occur  to   any   student  of  our  Babylonj 

386 


I 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

people  were  already  packed  so  closely  that  passage  had 
grown  difficult;  and  Somerset,  standing  in  the  kennel, 
watched,  with  a  hope  that  was  beginning  to  grow  somewhat 
weary,  the  faces  and  the  manners  of  the  crowd.  Suddenly 
he  was  startled  by  a  gentle  touch  upon  the  shoulder,  and 
facing  about,  he  was  aware  of  a  very  plain  and  elegant 
brougham,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  powerful  horses,  and  driven 
by  a  man  in  sober  livery.  There  were  no  arms  upon  the 
panel;  the  window  was  open,  but  the  interior  was  obscure; 
the  driver  yawned  behind  his  palm ;  and  the  young  man  was 
already  beginning  to  suppose  himself  the  dupe  of  his  own 
fancy,  when  a  hand,  no  larger  than  a  child's  and  smoothly 
gloved  in  white,  appeared  in  a  corner  of  the  window  and 
privily  beckoned  him  to  approach.  He  did  so,  and  looked 
in.  The  carriage  was  occupied  by  a  single  small  and  dainty 
figure,  swathed  head  and  shoulders  in  impenetrable  folds  of 
white  lace ;  and  a  voice,  speaking  low  and  silvery,  addressed 
him  in  these  words : 

"  Open  the  door  and  get  in." 

"  It  must  be,"  thought  the  young  man  with  an  almost 
unbearable  thrill,  "  it  must  be  that  duchess  at  last ! "  Yet, 
although  the  moment  was  one  to  which  he  had  long  looked 
forward,  it  was  with  a  certain  share  of  alarm  that  he  opened 
the  door,  and,  mounting  into  the  brougham,  took  his  seat 
beside  the  lady  of  the  lace.  Whether  or  no  she  had  touched 
a  spring,  or  given  some  other  signal,  the  young  man  had 
hardly  closed  the  door  before  the  carriage,  with  consider- 
able swiftness,  and  with  a  very  luxurious  and  easy  movement 
on  its  springs,  turned  and  began  to  drive  toward  the  west. 

Somerset,  as  I  have  written,  was  not  unprepared;  it  had 
long  been  his  particular  pleasure  to  rehearse  his  conduct  in 
the  most  unlikely  situations ;  and  this,  among  others,  of  the 
patrician  ravisher,  was  one  he  had  familiarly  studied. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  however,  he  could  find  no  apposite 
remark;  and  as  the  lady,  on  her  side,  vouchsafed  no  further 
sign,  they  continued  to  drive  in  silence  through  the  streets. 
Except  for  alternate  flashes  from  the  passing  lamps,  the 
carriage  was  plunged  in  obscurity;   and  beyond  the  fact 

387 


THE  DYNAMITER 

that  the  fittings  were  luxurious,  and  that  the  lady  was 
singularly  small  and  slender  in  person,  and,  all  but  one 
gloved  hand,  still  swathed  in  her  costly  veil,  the  young  man 
could  decipher  no  detail  of  an  inspiring  nature.  The  sus- 
pense began  to  grow  unbearable.  Twice  he  cleared  his  throat, 
and  twice  the  whole  resources  of  the  language  failed  him. 
In  similar  scenes,  when  he  had  forecast  them  on  the  theater 
of  fancy,  his  presence  of  mind  had  always  been  complete, 
his  eloquence  remarkable;  and  at  tliis  disparity  between  the 
rehearsal  and  the  performance,  he  began  to  be  seized  with  a 
panic  of  apprehension.  Here,  on  the  very  threshold  of  ad- 
venture, suppose  him  ignominiously  to  fail ;  suppose  that 
after  ten,  twenty,  or  sixty  seconds  of  still  uninterrupted 
silence,  the  lady  should  touch  the  check-string  and  re-de- 
posit him,  weighed  and  found  wanting,  on  the  common 
street !  Thousands  of  persons  of  no  mind  at  all,  he  reasoned, 
would  be  found  more  equal  to  the  part ;  could,  that  very 
instant,  by  some  decisive  step,  prove  the  lady's  choice  to 
have  been  well  inspired,  and  put  a  stop  to  this  intolerable 
silence. 

His  eye  at  this  point  lighted  on  the  hand.  It  was  better 
to  fall  by  desperate  councils  than  to  continue  as  he  was ;  and 
with  one  tremulous  swoop  he  pounced  on  the  gloved  fingers 
and  drew  them  to  liimself.  One  overt  step,  it  had  appeared 
to  him,  would  dissolve  the  spell  of  his  embarrassment;  in 
act,  he  found  it  otherwise :  he  found  liimself  no  less  incapable 
of  speech  or  further  progress ;  and  with  the  lady's  hand  in 
his,  sat  helpless.  But  worse  was  in  store.  A  peculiar 
quivering  began  to  agitate  the  form  of  his  companion;  the 
hand  that  lay  unresistingly  in  Somerset's  trembled  as  with 
ague;  and  presently  there  broke  forth,  in  the  shadow  of  the 
carriage,  the  bubbling  and  musical  sound  of  laughter,  re- 
sisted but  triumphant.  The  young  man  dropped  his  prize; 
had  it  been  possible,  he  would  have  bounded  from  the  car- 
riage. The  lady,  meanwhile,  lying  back  upon  the  cushions, 
passed  on  from  trill  to  trill  of  the  most  heartfelt,  liigh- 
pitched,  clear  and  fairy-sounding  merriment. 

"  You  must  not  be  offended,"  she  said  at  last,  catching 

388 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

an  opportunity  between  two  paroxysms.  "  If  you  have  been 
mistaken  in  the  warmth  of  your  attentions,  the  fault  is 
solely  mine;  it  does  not  flow  from  your  presumption,  but 
from  my  eccentric  manner  of  recruiting  friends ;  and,  be- 
lieve me,  I  am  the  last  person  in  the  world  to  think  the 
worse  of  a  young  man  for  showing  spirit.  As  for  to-night, 
it  is  my  intention  to  entertain  you  to  a  little  supper;  and  if 
I  shall  continue  to  be  as  much  pleased  with  your  manners 
as  I  was  taken  with  your  face,  I  may  perhaps  end  by  making 
you  an  advantageous  offer." 

Somerset  sought  in  vain  to  find  some  form  of  answer,  but 
his  discomfiture  had  been  too  recent  and  complete. 

"  Come,"  returned  the  lady,  "  we  must  have  no  display 
of  temper ;  that  is  for  me  the  one  disqualifying  fault ;  and  as 
I  perceive  we  are  drawing  near  our  destination,  I  shall  ask 
you  to  descend  and  offer  me  your  arm." 

Indeed,  at  that  very  moment  the  carriage  drew  up  before 
a  stately  and  severe  mansion  in  a  spacious  square;  and 
Somerset,  who  was  possessed  of  an  excellent  temper,  with 
the  best  grace  in  the  world  assisted  the  lady  to  alight.  The 
door  was  opened  by  an  old  woman  of  a  grim  appearance, 
who  ushered  the  pair  into  a  dining-room  somewhat  dimly 
lighted,  but  already  laid  for  supper,  and  occupied  by  a 
prodigious  company  of  large  and  valuable  cats.  Here,  as 
soon  as  they  were  alone,  the  lady  divested  herself  of  the 
lace  in  which  she  was  infolded ;  and  Somerset  was  reheved  to 
find,  that  although  still  bearing  the  traces  of  great  beauty, 
and  still  distinguished  by  the  fire  and  color  of  her  e3'e,  her 
hair  was  of  a  silvery  whiteness  and  her  face  lined  with 
years. 

"  And  now,  mon  'preux,"  said  the  old  lady,  nodding  at 
him  with  a  quaint  gayety,  "  you  perceive  that  I  am  no  longer 
in  my  first  youth.  You  will  soon  find  that  I  am  all  the 
better  company  for  that." 

As  she  spoke,  the  maid  re-entered  the  apartment 
with  a  hght  but  tasteful  supper.  They  sat  down,  ac- 
cordingly, to  table,  the  cats  with  savage  pantomime  sur- 
rounding the  old  lady's  chair,  and  what  with  the  excellence 

389 


k 


THE  DYNAMITER 

of  the  meal  and  the  gayety  of  his  entertainer,  Somerset  was 
soon  completely  at  his  ease.  When  they  had  well  eaten  and 
drunk,  the  old  lady  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  and  taking  a 
cat  upon  her  lap,  subjected  her  guest  to  a  prolonged  but 
evidently  mirthful  scrutiny. 

"  I  fear,  madam,"  said  Somerset,  "  that  my  manners  have 
not  risen  to  the  height  of  your  preconceived  opinion." 

"  My  dear  young  man,"  she  replied,  "  you  were  never 
more  mistaken  in  your  life.  I  find  you  charming,  and  you 
may  very  well  have  lighted  on  a  fairy  godmother.  I  am 
not  one  of  those  who  are  given  to  change  their  opinions, 
and  short  of  substantial  demerit,  those  who  have  once  gained 
my  favor  continue  to  enjoy  it;  but  I  have  a  singular  swift- 
ness of  decision,  read  my  fellow  men  and  women  with  a 
glance,  and  have  acted  throughout  life  on  first  impressions. 
Yours,  as  I  tell  you,  has  been  favorable:  and  if,  as  I  sup- 
pose, you  are  a  young  fellow  of  somewhat  idle  habits,  I 
think  it  not  improbable  that  we  may  strike  a  bargain." 

"  Ah,  madam,"  returned  Somerset,  "  you  have  divined 
my  situation.  I  am  a  man  of  birth,  parts  and  breeding; 
excellent  company,  or  at  least  so  I  find  myself;  but  by  a 
peculiar  iniquity  of  fate,  destitute  alike  of  trade  or  money. 
I  was,  indeed,  this  evening  upon  the  quest  of  an  adventure, 
resolved  to  close  with  any  offer  of  interest,  emolument  or 
pleasure;  and  your  summons,  Avhich  I  profess  I  am  still  at 
some  loss  to  understand,  jumped  naturally  with  the  inclina- 
tion of  my  mind.  Call  it,  if  you  will,  impudence ;  I  am  hercj, 
at  least,  prepared  for  any  proposition  you  can  find  it  in  your 
heart  to  make,  and  resolutely  determined  to  accept." 

"  You  express  yourself  very  well,"  replied  the  old  lady, 
"  and  are  certainly  a  droll  and  curious  young  man.  I 
should  not  care  to  affirm  that  you  were  sane,  for  I  have  never 
found  any  one  entirely  so  besides  myself;  but  at  least  the 
nature  of  your  madness  entertains  me,  and  I  will  reward  you 
with  some  description  of  my  character  and  life." 

Thereupon  the  old  lady,  still  fondling  the  cat  upon  her 
lap,  proceeded  to  narrate  the  following  particulars. 

S90 


i 


NAKRATIVE    OF    THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

I  WAS  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Bernard 
Fanshawe,  who  held  a  valuable  living  in  the  diocese  of 
Bath  and  Wells.  Our  family,  a  very  large  one,  was  noted 
for  a  sprightly  and  incisive  wit,  and  came  of  a  good  old 
stock  where  beauty  was  an  heirloom.  In  Christian  grace 
of  character  we  were  unhappily  deficient.  From  my  earliest 
years  I  saw  and  deplored  the  defects  of  those  relatives  whose 
age  and  position  should  have  enabled  them  to  conquer  my 
esteem;  and  while  I  was  yet  a  child,  my  father  married  a 
second  wife,  in  whom  (strange  to  say)  the  Fanshawe  fail- 
ings were  exaggerated  to  a  monstrous  and  almost  laughable 
degree.  Whatever  may  be  said  against  me,  it  can  not  be 
denied  I  was  a  pattern  daughter ;  but  it  was  in  vain  that, 
with  the  most  touching  patience,  I  submitted  to  my  step- 
mother's demands ;  and  from  the  hour  she  entered  my 
father's  house,  I  may  say  that  I  met  with  notliing  but  in- 
justice and  ingratitude. 

I  stood  not  alone,  however,  in  the  sweetness  of  my  dispo- 
sition ;  for  one  other  of  the  family  besides  myself  was  free 
from  any  violence  of  character.  Before  I  had  reached  the 
age  of  sixteen,  this  cousin,  Jolin  by  name,  had  conceived  for 
me  a  sincere  but  silent  passion ;  and  although  the  poor  lad 
was  too  timid  to  hint  at  the  nature  of  his  feelings,  I  had 
soon  divined  and  begun  to  share  them.  For  some  days  I 
pondered  on  the  odd  situation  created  for  me  by  the  bash- 
fulness  of  my  admirer:  and  at  length,  perceiving  that  he 
began,  in  his  distress,  rather  to  avoid  than  seek  my  com- 
pany, I  determined  to  take  the  matter  into  my  own  hands. 
Finding  him  alone  in  a  retired  part  of  the  rectory  garden, 
I  told  him  that  I  had  divined  his  amiable  secret ;  that  I  knew 
with  what  disfavor  our  union  was  sure  to  be  regarded;  and 

391 


THE   DYNAMITEE 

that,  under  the  circumstances,  1  was  prepared  to  flee  with 
him  at  once.  Poor  John  was  Hterally  paralyzed  with  joy; 
such  was  the  force  of  his  emotions,  that  he  could  find  no 
words  in  which  to  thank  me;  and  that  I,  seeing  him  thus 
helpless,  was  obliged  to  arrange,  myself,  the  details  of  our 
flight,  and  of  the  stolen  marriage  which  was  immediately 
to  crown  it.  John  had  been  at  that  time  projecting  a  visit 
to  the  metropolis.  In  this  I  bade  him  persevere,  and  prom- 
ised on  the  following  day  to  join  him  at  the  Tavistock 
Hotel. 

True,  on  my  side,  to  every  detail  of  our  arrangement,  I 
arose,  on  the  day  in  question,  before  the  servants,  packed  a 
few  necessaries  in  a  bag,  took  with  me  the  little  money  I  pos- 
sessed, and  bade  farewell  forever  to  the  rectory.  I  walked 
with  good  spirits  to  a  town  some  thirty  miles  from  home, 
and  was  set  down  the  next  morning  in  this  great  city  of 
London.  As  I  walked  from  the  coach-office  to  the  hotel,  I 
could  not  help  exulting  in  the  pleasant  change  that  had 
befallen  me ;  beholding,  meanwhile,  with  innocent  delight, 
the  traffic  of  the  streets,  and  depicting,  in  all  the  colors  of 
fancy,  the  reception  that  awaited  me  from  John.  But  alas ! 
when  I  inquired  for  Mr.  Fanshawe,  the  porter  assured  me 
there  was  no  such  gentleman  among  the  guests.  By  what 
channel  our  secret  had  leaked  out,  or  what  pressure  had 
been  brought  to  bear  on  the  too  facile  John,  I  could  never 
fathom.  Enough  that  my  family  had  triumphed;  that  I 
found  myself  alone  in  London,  tender  in  years,  smarting 
under  the  most  sensible  mortification,  and  by  every  senti- 
ment of  pride  and  self-respect  debarred  forever  from  my 
father's  house. 

I  rose  under  the  blow,  and  found  lodgings  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Euston  Road,  where,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life, 
I  tasted  the  joys  of  independence.  Three  days  afterwards, 
an  advertisement  in  The  Times  directed  me  to  the  office  of 
a  solicitor  whom  I  knew  to  be  in  my  father's  confidence. 
There  I  was  given  the  promise  of  a  very  moderate  allow- 
ance, and  a  distinct  intimation  that  I  must  never  look  to 
be  received  at  home.     I  could  not  but   resent  so   cruel  a 

392 


I 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD   LADY 

desertion,  and  I  told  the  lawyer  it  was  a  meeting  I  desired 
as  little  as  themselves.  He  smiled  at  my  courageous  spirit, 
paid  me  the  first  quarter  of  my  income,  and  gave  me  the 
remainder  of  my  personal  effects,  which  had  been  sent  to 
me  under  his  care,  in  a  couple  of  rather  ponderous  boxes. 
With  these  I  returned  in  triumph  to  my  lodgings,  more  con- 
tent with  my  position  than  I  should  have  thought  possible 
a  week  before,  and  fully  determined  to  make  the  best  of  tha 
future. 

All  went  well  for  several  months ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  my 
own  fault  alone  that  ended  this  pleasant  and  secluded 
episode  of  life.  I  have,  I  must  confess,  the  fatal  trick  of 
spoiling  my  inferiors.  My  landlady,  to  whom  I  had  as 
usual  been  overkind,  impertinently  called  me  in  fault  for 
some  particular  too  small  to  mention ;  and  I,  annoyed  that 
I  had  allowed  her  the  freedom  upon  which  she  thus  presumed, 
ordered  her  to  leave  my  presence.  She  stood  a  moment 
dumb,  and  then,  recalling  her  self-possession,  "  Your  bill,'* 
said  she,  "  shall  be  ready  this  evening,  and  to-morrow, 
madam,  you  shall  leave  my  house.  See,"  she  added,  "  that 
you  are  able  to  pay  what  you  owe  me ;  for  if  I  do  not  receive 
the  uttermost  fartliing,  no  box  of  yours  shall  pass  my 
threshold." 

I  was  confounded  at  her  audacity,  but  as  a  whole  quar- 
ter's income  was  due  to  mo,  not  otherwise  affected  by  the 
threat.  That  afternoon,  as  I  left  the  solicitor's  dooi',  carry- 
ing in  one  hand,  and  done  up  in  a  paper  parcel,  the  whole 
amount  of  my  fortune,  there  befell  me  one  of  those  decisive 
incidents  that  sometimes  shape  a  life.  The  lawyer's  office 
was  situate  in  a  street  that  opened  at  the  upper  end  upon 
the  Strand  and  was  closed  at  the  lower,  at  the  time  of  which 
I  speak,  by  a  row  of  iron  railings  looking  on  the  Thames. 
Down  this  street,  then,  I  beheld  my  stepmother  advancing 
to  meet  me,  and  doubtless  bound  to  the  very  house  I  had 
just  left.  She  was  attended  by  a  maid  whose  face  was  new 
to  me;  but  her  own  was  too  clearly  printed  on  my  memory; 
and  the  sight  of  it,  even  from  a  distance,  filled  me  with  gen- 
erous indignation.     Flight  was  impossible.     There  was  noth- 


THE  DYNAMITER 

ing  left  but  to  retreat  against  the  railing,  and  with  my  back 
turned  to  the  street,  pretend  to  be  admiring  the  barges  on 
the  river  or  the  chimneys  of  transpontine  London. 

I  was  still  standing,  and  had  not  yet  fully  mastered  the 
turbulence  of  my  emotions,  when  a  voice  at  my  elbow  ad* 
dressed  me  with  a  trivial  question.  It  was  the  maid  whom 
my  stepmother,  with  characteristic  hardness,  had  left  to 
await  her  on  the  street,  while  she  transacted  her  business 
with  the  family  solicitor.  The  girl  did  not  know  who  I  was ; 
the  opportunity  too  golden  to  be  lost;  and  I  was  soon  hear- 
ing the  latest  news  of  my  father's  rectory  and  parish.  It 
did  not  surprise  me  to  find  that  she  detested  her  employers ; 
and  yet  the  terms  in  which  she  spoke  of  them  were  hard 
to  bear,  hard  to  let  pass  unchallenged.  I  heard  them,  how- 
ever, without  dissent,  for  my  self-command  is  wonderful; 
and  we  might  have  parted  as  we  met  had  she  not  proceeded, 
in  an  evil  hour,  to  criticise  the  rector's  missing  daughter, 
and  with  the  most  shocking  perversions,  to  narrate  the  story 
of  her  flight.  My  nature  is  so  essentially  generous  that  I 
can  never  pause  to  reason.  I  flung  up  my  hand  sharply,  by 
way,  as  well  as  I  remember,  of  indignant  protest;  and,  in 
the  act,  the  packet  slipped  from  my  fingers,  glanced  between 
the  railings,  and  fell  and  sunk  in  the  river.  I  stood  for  a 
moment  petrified,  and  then,  struck  by  the  drollery  of  the 
incident,  gave  way  to  peals  of  laughter.  I  was  still  laugh- 
ing when  my  stepmother  reappeared,  and  the  maid,  who 
doubtless  considered  me  insane,  ran  off^  to  join  her;  nor  had 
I  yet  recovered  my  gravity  when  I  presented  myself  before 
the  lawyer  to  solicit  a  fresh  advance.  His  answer  made  me 
serious  enough,  for  it  was  a  flat  refusal ;  and  it  was  not  until 
I  had  besought  him  even  with  tears,  that  he  consented  to  lend 
me  ten  pounds  from  his  own  pocket.  "  I  am  a  poor  man," 
said  he,  "  and  you  must  look  for  nothing  further  at  my 
hands." 

The  landlady  met  me  at  the  door.  "  Here,  madam,"  said 
she,  with  a  courtesy  insolently  low,  "  here  is  my  bill.  Would 
it  inconvenience  you  to  settle  it  at  once.''  " 

"  You  shall  be  paid,  madam,"  said  I,  "  in  the  morning, 

S94i 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

in  the  proper  course."  And  I  took  the  paper  with  a  very 
high  air,  but  inwardly  quaking. 

I  had  no  sooner  looked  at  it  than  I  perceived  myself  to 
be  lost.  I  had  been  short  of  money  and  had  allowed  my 
debt  to  mount;  and  it  had  now  reached  the  sum,  which  I 
shall  never  forget,  of  twelve  pounds  thirteen  shillings  and 
fourpence  halfpenny.  All  evening  I  sat  by  the  fire  consid- 
ering my  situation.  I  could  not  pay  the  bill ;  my  landlady 
would  not  suffer  me  to  remove  my  boxes ;  and  without  either 
baggage  or  money,  how  was  I  to  find  another  lodging.''  For 
three  months,  unless  I  could  invent  some  remedy,  I  was  con- 
demned to  be  without  a  roof  and  without  a  penny.  It  can 
surprise  no  one  that  I  decided  on  immediate  flight ;  but  even 
here  I  was  confronted  by  a  difficulty,  for  I  had  no  sooner 
packed  my  boxes  than  I  found  I  was  not  strong  enough  to 
move,  far  less  to  carry  them. 

In  this  strait  I  did  not  hesitate  a  moment,  but  throwing 
on  a  shawl  and  bonnet,  and  covering  my  face  with  a  thick 
veil,  I  betook  myself  to  that  great  bazaar  of  dangerous  and 
smIHng  chances,  the  pavement  of  the  city.  It  was  already 
late  at  night,  and  the  weather  being  wet  and  windy,  there 
were  few  abroad  besides  policemen.  These,  on  my  present 
mission,  I  had  wit  enough  to  know  for  enemies ;  and  wher- 
ever I  perceived  their  moving  lanterns,  I  made  haste  to  turn 
aside  and  choose  another  thoroughfare.  A  few  miserable 
women  still  walked  the  pavement ;  here  and  there  were  young 
fellows  returning  drunk,  or  ruffians  of  the  lowest  class  lurk- 
ing in  the  mouths  of  alleys ;  but  of  any  one  to  whom  I  might 
appeal  in  my  distress,  I  began  almost  to  despair. 

At  last,  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  I  ran  into  the  arms  of 
one  who  was  evidently  a  gentleman,  and  who,  in  all  his  ap- 
pointments, from  his  furred  great-coat  to  the  fine  cigar 
which  he  was  smoking,  comfortably  breathed  of  wealth. 
Much  as  my  face  has  changed  from  its  original  beauty,  I 
still  retain  (or  so  I  tell  myself)  some  traces  of  the  youthful 
lightness  of  my  figure.  Even  veiled  as  I  then  was,  I  could 
perceive  the  gentleman  was  struck  by  my  appearance;  and 
this  emboldened  me  for  my  adventure. 

Sp5 


THE  DYNAMITER 

"  Sir,''  said  I  with  a  quickly  beating  heart,  "  are  you 
one  in  whom  a  lady  can  confide  ?  " 

"  Why,  my  dear,"  said  he,  removing  his  cigar,  "  that  de- 
pends on  circumstances.     If  you  will  raise  your  veil " 

"  Sir,"  I  interrupted,  "  let  there  be  no  mistake.  I  ask 
you,  as  a  gentleman,  to  serve  me,  but  I  offer  no  reward." 

"  That  is  frank,"  said  he,  "  but  hardly  tempting.  And 
what,  may  I  inquire,  is  the  nature  of  the  service  .f*  " 

But  I  knew  well  enough  it  was  not  my  interest  to  tell  him 
on  so  short  an  interview.  "  If  you  will  accompany  me,"  said 
I,  "  to  a  house  not  far  from  here,  you  can  see  for  yourself." 

He  looked  at  me  awliile  with  hesitating  eyes;  and  then, 
tossing  away  his  cigar,  which  was  not  yet  a  quarter  smoked, 
"  Here  goes !  "  said  he,  and  with  perfect  politeness  offered 
me  his  arm.  I  was  wise  enough  to  take  it;  to  prolong  our 
walk  as  far  as  possible,  by  more  than  one  excursion  from  the 
shortest  line ;  and  to  beguile  the  way  with  that  sort  of  con- 
versation which  should  prove  to  him  indubitably  from  what 
station  in  society  I  sprang.  By  the  time  we  reached  the 
door  of  my  lodging  I  felt  sure  I  had  confirmed  his  interest, 
and  might  venture,  before  I  turned  the  pass-key,  to  be- 
seech him  to  moderate  his  voice  and  to  tread  softly.  He 
promised  to  obey  me;  and  I  admitted  him  into  the  passage 
and  thence  into  my  sitting-room,  which  was  fortunately 
next  the  door. 

"  And  now,"  said  he,  A^hen  with  trembling  fingers  I  had 
lighted  a  candle,  "  wh  vt  is  the  meaning  of  all  this.^^  " 

"  I  wish  you,"  said  I,  speaking  Avith  great  difficulty,  "  to 
help  me  out  with  these  boxes — and  I  wish  nobody  to  know.'* 

He  took  up  the  candle.  "  And  I  wish  to  see  your  face," 
he  said. 

I  turned  back  my  veil  without  a  word,  and  looked  at  him 
with  every  appearance  of  resolve  that  I  could  summon  up. 
For  some  time  he  gazed  into  my  face,  still  holding  up  the 
candle.  "  Well,"  said  he  at  last,  "  and  where  do  you  wish 
them  taken?  " 

I  knew  that  I  had  gained  my  point ;  and  it  was  with 
a  tremor  in  my  voice  that  I  replied,  "  I  had  thought  we 

396 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD   LADY 

might  carry  them  between  us  to  the  corner  of  Euston  Road," 
said  I,  "  where,  even  at  this  late  hour,  we  may  still  find  a 
cab." 

"  Very  good,"  was  his  reply ;  and  he  immediately  hoisted 
the  heavier  of  my  trunks  upon  his  shoulder,  and  taking  one 
handle  of  the  second,  signed  to  me  to  help  him  at  the  other 
end.  In  this  order  we  made  good  our  retreat  from  the 
house,  and  without  the  least  adventure,  drew  pretty  near  to 
the  comer  of  Euston  Road.  Before  a  house,  where  there 
was  a  light  still  burning,  my  companion  paused,  "  Let  us 
here,"  said  he,  "  set  down  our  boxes,  while  we  go  forward 
to  the  end  of  the  street  in  quest  of  a  cab.  By  doing  so, 
we  can  still  keep  an  eye  upon  their  safety ;  and  we  avoid  the 
very  extraordinary  figure  we  should  otherwise  present — a 
young  man,  a  young  lady,  and  a  mass  of  baggage,  standing 
castaway  at  midnight  on  the  streets  of  London."  So  it  was 
done,  and  the  event  proved  him  to  be  wise;  for  long  before 
there  was  any  word  of  a  cab,  a  policeman  appeared  upon 
the  scene,  turned  upon  us  the  full  glare  of  his  lantern,  and 
hung  suspiciously  behind  us  in  a  doorway. 

"  There  seem  to  be  no  cabs  about,  policeman,"  said  my 
champion,  with  affected  cheerfulness.  But  the  constable's 
answer  was  ungracious ;  and  as  for  the  offer  of  a  cigar, 
with  which  this  rebuff  was  most  unwisely  followed  up,  he 
refused  it  point-blank,  and  without  the  least  civility.  The 
young  gentleman  looked  at  me  with  a  warning  grimace, 
and  there  we  continued  to  stand,  on  the  edge  of  the  pave- 
ment, in  the  beating  rain,  and  with  the  policeman  still 
silently  watching  our  movements  from  the  doorway. 

At  last,  and  after  a  delay  that  seemed  interminable,  a 
four-wheeler  appeared  lumbering  along  in  the  mud,  and  was 
instantly  hailed  by  my  companion.  "  Just  pull  up  here,  will 
you?"  he  cried.     "We  have  some  baggage  up  the  street." 

And  now  came  the  hitch  of  our  adventure;  for  when  the 
policeman,  still  closely  following  us,  beheld  my  two  boxes 
lying  in  the  rain,  he  arose  from  mere  suspicion  to  a  kind  of 
certitude  of  something  evil.  The  light  in  the  house  had 
been   extinguished;   the  whole   frontage   of  the   street   was 

397 


k 


THE  DYNAMITER 

dar"k;  there  was  nothing  to  explain  the  presence  of  these 
unguarded  trunks ;  and  no  two  innocent  people  were  ever, 
I  believe,  detected  in  such  questionable  circumstances. 

"  Where  have  these  things  come  from?  "  asked  the  police- 
man, flashing  his  light  full  into  my  companion's  face. 

"  Why,  from  that  house,  of  course,"  replied  the  young 
gentleman,  hastily  shouldering  a  trunk. 

The  policeman  whistled  and  turned  to  look  at  the  dark 
windows ;  he  then  took  a  step  toward  the  door,  as  though  to 
knock,  a  course  which  had  infallibly  proved  our  ruin ;  but 
seeing  us  already  hurrying  down  the  street  under  our  double 
burden,  thought  better  or  worse  of  it,  and  followed  in  our 
wake. 

"  For  God's  sake,"  whispered  my  companion,  "  tell  me 
where  to  drive  to." 

"  Anywhere,"  I  replied,  with  anguish.  "  I  have  no  idea. 
Anywhere  you  like." 

Thus  it  befell  that,  when  the  boxes  had  been  stowed  and 
I  had  already  entered  the  cab,  my  deliverer  called  out  in 
clear  tones  the  address  of  the  house  in  which  we  are  now 
seated.  The  policeman,  I  could  see,  was  staggered.  This 
neighborhood,  so  retired,  so  aristocratic,  was  far  from  what 
he  had  expected.  For  all  that,  he  took  the  number,  and 
spoke  for  a  few  seconds  and  with  a  decided  manner,  in  the 
cabman's  ear. 

"What  can  he  have  said.f^  "  I  gasped,  as  soon  as  the  cab 
had  rolled  away. 

"  I  can  very  well  imagine,"  replied  my  champion ;  "  and 
I  can  assure  you  that  you  are  now  condemned  to  go  where 
I  have  said;  for,  should  we  attempt  to  change  our  destina- 
tion by  the  way,  the  jarvey  will  drive  us  straight  to  a  pohce 
office.  Let  me  compliment  you  on  your  nerves,"  he  added. 
"  I  have  had,  I  believe,  the  most  horrible  fright  of  my 
existence." 

But  my  nerves,  which  he  so  much  misjudged,  were  in  so 
strange  a  disarray  that  speech  was  now  become  impossible ; 
and  we  made  the  drive  thenceforward  in  unbroken  silence. 
When  we  arrived  before  the  door  of  our  destination,  tJsv* 

398 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD   LADY 

young  gentleman  alighted,  opened  it  with  a  pass-key  like 
one  who  was  at  home,  bade  the  driver  carry  the  trunks  into 
the  hall,  and  dismissed  him  with  a  handsome  fee.  He  then 
led  me  into  this  dining-room,  looking  nearly  as  you  behold 
it,  but  with  certain  marks  of  bachelor  occupancy,  and  has- 
tened to  pour  out  a  glass  of  wine,  which  he  insisted  on  my 
drinking.  As  soon  as  I  could  find  my  voice,  "  In  God's 
name,"  I  cried,  "  where  am  I.''  " 

He  then  told  me  I  was  in  his  house,  where  I  was  very 
welcome,  and  had  no  more  urgent  business  than  to  rest 
myself  and  recover  my  spirits.  As  he  spoke  he  offered  me 
another  glass  of  wine,  of  which,  indeed,  I  stood  in  great 
want,  for  I  was  faint,  and  inclined  to  be  hysterical.  Then 
he  sat  down  beside  the  fireside,  lighted  another  cigar,  and  for 
some  time  observed  me  curiously  and  in  silence. 

"  And  now,"  said  he,  "  that  you  have  somewhat  restored 
yourself,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me  in  what  sort 
of  crime  I  have  become  a  partner.''  Are  you  murderess, 
smuggler,  thief,  or  only  the  harmless  and  domestic  moon- 
hght  flitter.?" 

I  had  been  already  shocked  by  his  lighting  a  cigar  with- 
out permission,  for  I  had  not  forgotten  the  one  he  threw 
away  on  our  first  meeting ;  and  now,  at  these  explicit  insults, 
I  resolved  at  once  to  reconquer  his  esteem.  The  judgment 
of  the  world  I  have  consistently  despised,  but  I  had  already 
begun  to  set  a  certain  value  on  the  good  opinion  of  my 
entertainer.  Beginning  with  a  note  of  pathos,  but  soon 
brightening  into  my  habitual  vivacity  and  humor,  I  rapidly 
narrated  the  circumstances  of  my  birth,  my  flight,  and  sub- 
sequent misfortunes.  He  heard  me  to  an  end  in  silence, 
gravely  smoking.  "  Miss  Fanshawe,"  said  he,  when  I  had 
done,  "  you  are  a  very  comical  and  most  enchanting  crea- 
ture; and  I  see  nothing  for  it  but  that  I  should  return  to- 
morrow morning  and  satisfy  your  landlady's  demands." 

"  You  strangely  misinterpret  my  confidence,"  was  my 
reply ;  "  and  if  you  had  at  all  appreciated  my  character, 
you  would  understand  that  I  can  take  no  money  at  your 
hands." 

399 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  Your  landlady  will  doubtless  not  be  so  particular,"  he 
returned ;  "  neither  do  I  at  all  despair  of  persuading  even 
your  unconquerable  self.  I  desire  you  to  examine  me  with 
critical  indulgence.  My  name  is  Henry  Luxmore,  Lord 
Southwark's  second  son.  I  possess  nine  thousand  a  year, 
the  house  in  which  we  are  now  sitting  and  seven  others  in 
the  best  neighborhoods  in  town.  I  do  not  believe  I  am 
repulsive  to  the  eye,  and  as  for  my  character,  you  have  seen 
me  under  trial.  I  think  you  simply  the  most  original  of 
created  beings ;  I  need  not  tell  you  what  you  know  very  well, 
that  you  are  ravishingly  pretty ;  and  I  have  nothing  more  to 
add,  except  that,  foolish  as  it  may  appear,  I  am  already 
head  over  heels  in  love  with  you." 

"Sir,"  said  I,  "I  am  prepared  to  be  misjudged;  but 
while  I  continue  to  accept  your  hospitality  that  fact  alone 
should  be  enough  to  protect  me  from  insult." 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  he ;  "I  offer  you  marriage."  And 
leaning  back  in  his  chair  he  replaced  his  cigar  between  his 
lips. 

I  own  I  was  confounded  by  an  offer,  not  only  so  un- 
prepared, but  couched  in  terms  so  singular.  But  he  knew 
very  well  how  to  obtain  his  purposes,  for  he  was  not  only 
handsome  in  person,  but  Ills  very  coolness  had  a  charm ;  and 
to  make  a  long  story  short,  a  fortnight  later  I  became  the 
wife  of  the  Honorable  Henry  Luxmore. 

For  nearly  twenty  j^ears  I  now  led  a  life  of  almost  perfect 
quiet.  My  Henry  had  his  weaknesses ;  I  was  twice  driven 
to  flee  from  his  roof,  but  not  for  long;  for  though  he  was 
easily  overexcited,  his  nature  was  placable  below  the  sur- 
face, and  with  all  his  faults,  I  loved  him  tenderly.  At  last 
he  was  taken  from  me;  and  such  is  the  power  of  self-decep- 
tion, and  so  strange  are  the  whims  of  the  dying,  he  actually 
assured  me,  with  his  latest  breath,  that  he  forgave  the 
violence  of  my  temper ! 

There  was  but  one  pledge  of  the  marriage,  my  daughter 
Clara.  She  had,  indeed,  inherited  a  shadow  of  her  father's 
failing;  but  in  all  things  else,  unless  my  partial  eyes  de- 
ceived me,   she   derived  her   quahties   from   me,   and  might 

400 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

be  called  my  moral  image.  On  my  side,  whatever  else  I  may 
have  done  amiss,  as  a  mother  I  was  above  reproach.  Here, 
then,  was  surely  every  promise  for  the  future;  here,  at  last, 
was  a  relation  in  which  I  might  hope  to  taste  repose.  But 
it  was  not  to  be.  You  will  hardly  credit  me  Avhen  I  inform 
you  that  she  ran  away  from  home ;  yet  such  was  the  case. 
Some  whim  about  oppressed  nationaHties — Ireland,  Poland, 
and  the  hke — has  turned  her  brain ;  and  if  you  should  any- 
where encounter  a  young  lady  (I  must  say,  of  remarkable 
attractions)  answering  to  the  name  of  Luxmore,  Lake,  or 
Fonblanque  (for  I  am  told  she  uses  these  indifferently,  as 
well  as  many  others),  tell  her  for  me,  that  I  forgive  her 
cruelty,  and  though  I  will  never  more  behold  her  face,  I  am 
at  any  time  prepared  to  make  her  a  liberal  allowance. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Luxmore,  I  sought  obhvion  in  the 
details  of  business.  I  believe  I  have  mentioned  that  seven 
mansions,  besides  this,  formed  part  of  ]Mr.  Luxmore's  prop- 
erty: I  have  found  them  seven  Avhite  elephants.  The  greed 
of  tenants,  the  dishonesty  of  solicitors,  and  the  incapacity 
that  sits  upon  the  bench,  have  combined  together  to  make 
these  houses  the  burden  of  my  life.  I  had  no  sooner,  indeed, 
begun  to  look  into  these  matters  for  myself,  than  I  dis- 
covered so  many  injustices  and  met  with  so  much  studied 
incivility,  that  I  was  plunged  into  a  long  series  of  law  suits, 
some  of  which  are  pending  to  this  day.  You  must  have 
heard  my  name  already ;  I  am  the  Mrs.  Luxmore  of  the  Law 
Reports:  a  strange  destiny,  indeed,  for  one  born  with  an 
almost  cowardly  desire  for  peace!  But  I  am  of  the  stamp 
of  those  who,  when  they  have  once  begun  a  task,  will  rather 
die  than  leave  their  duty  unfulfilled.  I  have  mot  with  every 
obstacle :  insolence  and  ingratitude  from  my  own  lawyers ; 
in  my  adversaries,  that  fault  of  obstinacy  which  is  to  me 
perhaps  the  most  distasteful  in  the  calendar;  from  the 
bench,  civility  indeed — always,  I  must  allow,  civility — but 
never  a  spark  of  independence,  never  that  knowledge  of  the 
law  and  love  of  justice  which  we  have  a  right  to  look  for 
in  a  judge,  the  most  august  of  human  officers.  And  still, 
against  all  these  odds,  I  have  undissuadably  persevered. 

401 


THE  DYNAMITER 

It  was  after  the  loss  of  one  of  my  innumerable  cases  (a 
subject  on  which  I  will  not  dwell)  that  it  occurred  to  me  to 
make  a  melancholy  pilgrimage  to  my  various  houses.  Four 
were  at  that  time  tenantlcss  and  closed,  like  pillars  of  salt, 
commemorating  the  corruption  of  the  age  and  the  decline 
of  private  virtue.  Three  were  occupied  by  persons  who 
had  wearied  me  by  every  conceivable  unjust  demand  and 
legal  subterfuge — persons  whom,  at  that  very  hour,  I  was 
moving  heaven  and  earth  to  turn  into  the  street.  This  was 
perhaps  the  sadder  spectacle  of  the  two ;  and  my  heart  grew 
hot  within  me  to  behold  them  occupying,  in  my  very  teeth, 
and  with  an  insolent  ostentation,  these  handsome  structures 
which  were  as  much  mine  as  the  flesh  upon  my  body. 

One  more  house  remained  for  me  to  visit,  that  in  which 
we  now  are.  I  had  let  it  (for  at  that  period  I  lodged  in  a 
hotel,  the  life  that  I  have  always  preferred)  to  a  Colonel 
Geraldine,  a  gentleman  attached  to  Prince  Florizel  of 
Bohemia,  whom  you  must  certainly  have  heard  of;  and  I 
had  supposed,  from  the  character  and  position  of  my  tenant, 
that  here,  at  least,  I  was  safe  against  annoyance.  What 
was  my  surprise  to  find  this  house  also  shuttered  and  appar- 
ently deserted !  I  will  not  deny  that  I  was  offended ;  I  con- 
ceived that  a  house,  like  a  yacht,  was  better  to  be  kept  in 
commission;  and  I  promised  myself  to  bring  the  matter  be- 
fore my  solicitor  the  following  morning.  Meanwhile  the 
sight  recalled  my  fancy  naturally  to  the  past;  and  yielding' 
to  the  tender  influence  of  sentiment,  I  sat  down  opposite  the 
door  upon  the  garden  parapet.  It  was  August,  and  a  sultry 
afternoon,  but  that  spot  is  sheltered,  as  you  may  observe  by 
daylight,  under  the  branches  of  a  spreading  chestnut;  the 
square,  too,  was  deserted ;  there  was  a  sound  of  distant  music 
in  the  air;  and  all  combined  to  plunge  me  into  that  most 
agreeable  of  states,  which  is  neither  happiness  nor  sorrow, 
but  shares  the  poignancy  of  both. 

From  this  I  was  recalled  by  the  arrival  of  a  large  van, 
very  handsomely  appointed,  drawn  by  valuable  horses, 
mounted  by  several  men  of  an  appearance  more  than  decent, 
and  bearing  on  its  panels,  instead  of  a  trader's  name,  a 

402 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

coat-of-arms  too  modest  to  be  deciphered  from  where  I  sat. 
It  drew  up  before  my  house,  the  door  of  which  was  imme- 
diately opened  by  one  of  the  men.  His  companions — I 
counted  seven  of  them  in  all — proceeded,  with  disciplined 
activity,  to  take  from  the  van  and  carry  into  the  house  a 
variety  of  hampers,  bottle-baskets,  and  boxes,  such  as  are 
designed  for  plate  and  napery.  The  windows  of  the  dining- 
room  were  thrown  widely  open,  as  though  to  air  it ;  and  I 
saw  some  of  those  within  laying  the  table  for  a  meal. 
Plainly,  I  concluded,  my  tenant  was  about  to  return ;  and 
while  still  determined  to  submit  to  no  aggression  on  my 
rights,  I  was  gratified  by  the  number  and  discipline  of  his 
attendants,  and  the  quiet  profusion  that  appeared  to  reign 
in  his  establishment.  I  was  still  so  thinking  when,  to  my 
extreme  surprise,  the  windows  and  shutters  of  the  dining- 
room  were  once  more  closed ;  the  men  began  to  reappear 
from  the  interior  and  resume  their  stations  on  the  van;  the 
last  closed  the  door  behind  his  exit ;  the  van  drove  away ; 
and  the  house  was  once  more  left  to  itself,  looking  blindly 
on  the  square  with  shuttered  windows,  as  though  the  whole 
affair  had  been  a  vision. 

It  was  no  vision,  however;  for,  as  I  rose  to  my  feet  and 
thus  brought  my  eyes  a  httle  nearer  to  the  level  of  the  fan- 
light over  the  door,  I  saw  that,  though  the  day  had  still 
some  hours  to  run,  the  hall  lamps  had  been  lighted  and  left 
burning.  Plainly,  then,  guests  were  expected,  and  not  ex- 
pected before  night.  For  whom,  I  asked  myself  with  indig- 
nation, were  such  secret  preparations  likely  to  be  made? 
Although  no  prude,  I  am  a  woman  of  decided  views  upon 
morality;  if  my  house,  to  which  my  husband  had  brought 
me,  was  to  serve  in  the  character  of  a  petite  maison,  I  saw 
myself  forced,  however  unwillingly,  into  a  new  course  of 
litigation ;  and,  determined  to  return  and  know  the  worst, 
I  hastened  to  my  hotel  for  dinner. 

I  was  at  my  post  by  ten.  The  night  was  clear  and  quiet ; 
the  moon  rode  very  high  and  put  the  lamps  to  shame;  and 
the  shadow  below  the  chestnut  was  black  as  ink.  Here,  then, 
I  ensconced  myself  on  the  low  parapet,  with  my  back  against 

403 


THE  DYNAMITER 

the  railings,  face  to  face  with  the  moonlit  front  of  my  old 
home,  and  ruminating  gently  on  the  past.  Time  fled ;  eleven 
struck  on  all  the  city  clocks;  and  presently  after  I  was 
aware  of  the  approach  of  a  gentleman  of  stately  and  agree- 
able demeanor.  He  was  smoking  as  he  walked;  his  light 
paletot,  which  was  open,  did  not  conceal  his  evening  clothes ; 
and  he  bore  himself  with  a  serious  grace  that  immediately 
awakened  my  attention.  Before  the  door  of  this  house  he 
took  a  pass-key  from  his  pocket,  quietly  admitted  himself, 
and  disappeared  into  the  lamplighted  hall. 

He  was  scarcely  gone  when  I  observed  another  and  a 
much  younger  man  approaching  hastily  from  the  opposite 
side  of  the  square.  Considering  the  season  of  the  year  and 
the  genial  mildness  of  the  night,  he  was  somewhat  closely 
muffled  up ;  and  as  he  came,  for  all  his  hurry,  he  kept  look- 
ing nervously  behind  him.  Arrived  before  my  door,  he 
halted  and  set  one  foot  upon  the  step,  as  though  about  to 
enter;  then,  with  a  sudden  change,  he  turned  and  began  to 
hurry  away ;  halted  a  second  time,  as  if  in  painful  indecision ; 
and  lastly,  with  a  violent  gesture,  wheeled  about,  returned 
straight  to  the  door,  and  rapped  upon  the  knocker.  He 
was  almost  immediately  admitted  by  the  first  arrival. 

My  curiosity  was  now  broad  awake.  I  made  myself  as 
small  as  I  could  in  the  very  densest  of  the  shadow,  and 
waited  for  the  sequel.  Nor  had  I  long  to  wait.  From  the 
same  side  of  the  square  a  second  3'^oung  man  made  his  ap- 
pearance, walking  slowly  and  softly,  and  like  the  first,  muf- 
fled to  the  nose.  Before  the  house  he  paused;  looked  all 
about  him  with  a  swift  and  comprehensive  glance;  and  see- 
ing the  square  lie  empty  in  the  moon  and  lamplight,  leaned 
far  across  the  area  railings  and  appeared  to  listen  to  what 
was  passing  in  the  house.  From  the  dining-room  there  came 
the  report  of  a  champagne  cork,  and  following  upon  thatc 
the  sound  of  rich  and  manly  laughter.  The  listener  took 
heart  of  grace,  produced  a  key,  unlocked  the  area  gate, 
shut  it  noiselessly  behind  him,  and  descended  the  stair.  Just 
when  his  head  had  reached  the  level  of  the  pavement,  he 
turned  half  round  and  once  more  raked  the  square  with  a 

40.]* 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD   LADY 

suspicious  ej'eshot.  The  mufflings  had  fallen  lower  round 
his  neck;  the  moon  shone  full  upon  him;  and  I  was  startled 
to  observe  the  pallor  and  passionate  agitation  of  his  face. 

I  could  remain  no  longer  passive.  Persuaded  that  some- 
thing deadly  was  afoot,  I  crossed  the  roadway  and  drew 
near  the  area  railings.  There  was  no  one  below ;  the  man 
must  therefore  have  entered  the  house,  with  what  purpose 
I  dreaded  to  imagine.  I  have  at  no  part  of  my  career 
lacked  courage;  and  now,  finding  the  area  gate  was  merely 
laid  to,  I  pushed  it  gently  open  and  descended  the  stairs. 
The  kitchen  door  of  the  house,  like  the  area  gate,  was 
closed  but  not  fastened.  It  flashed  upon  me  that  the  crim- 
inal was  thus  preparing  his  escape;  and  the  thought,  as  it 
confirmed  the  worst  of  my  suspicions,  lent  me  new  resolve. 
I  entered  the  house;  and  being  now  quite  reckless  of  my 
life,  I  shut  and  locked  the  door. 

From  the  dining-room  above  I  could  hear  the  pleasant 
tones  of  a  voice  in  easy  conversation.  On  the  ground  floor 
all  was  not  only  profoundly  silent,  but  the  darkness  seemed 
to  weigh  upon  my  eyes.  Here,  then,  I  stood  for  some  time, 
having  thrust  myself  uncalled  into  the  utmost  peril,  and 
being  destitute  of  any  power  to  help  or  interfere.  Nor  will 
I  deny  that  fear  had  begun  already  to  assail  me,  when  I 
became  aware,  all  at  once  and  as  though  by  some  immediate 
but  silent  incandescence,  of  a  certain  ghmmering  of  light 
upon  the  passage  floor.  Toward  tliis  I  groped  my  way  with 
infinite  precaution ;  and  having  come  at  length  as  far  as  the 
angle  of  the  corridor,  beheld  the  door  of  the  butler's  pantry 
standing  just  ajar  and  a  narrow  thread  of  brightness  fall- 
ing from  the  chink.  Creeping  still  closer,  I  put  my  eyes  to 
the  aperture.  The  man  sat  witliin  upon  a  chair,  listening,  I 
could  see,  with  the  most  rapt  attention.  On  a  table  before 
him  he  had  laid  a  watch,  a  pair  of  steel  revolvers,  and  a 
bull's-eye  lantern.  For  one  second  many  contradictory 
theories  and  projects  whirled  together  in  my  head;  the  next, 
I  had  slammed  the  door  and  turned  the  key  upon  the  male- 
factor. Surprised  at  my  own  decision,  I  stood  and  panted, 
leaning  on  the  walL     Frora  within  the  pautrv  not  a  sound 

4^ 


THE  DYNAMITER 

was  to  be  heard ;  the  man,  whatever  he  was,  had  accepted  his 
fate  without  a  struggle,  and  now,  as  I  hugged  myself  to 
fancy,  sat  frozen  with  terror  and  looking  for  the  worst  to 
follow.  I  promised  myself  that  he  should  not  be  disap- 
pointed; and  the  better  to  complete  my  task,  I  turned  to 
ascend  the  stairs. 

The  situation,  as  I  groped  my  way  to  the  first  floor, 
appealed  to  me  suddenly  by  my  strong  sense  of  humor. 
Here  was  I,  the  owner  of  the  house,  burglariously  present 
in  its  walls ;  and  there,  in  the  dining-room,  were  two  gentle- 
men, unknown  to  me,  seated  complacently  at  supper,  and 
only  saved  by  my  promptitude  from  some  surprising  or 
deadly  interruption.  It  were  strange  if  I  could  not  manage 
to  extract  the  matter  of  amusement  from  so  unusual  a 
situation. 

Behind  this  dining-room,  there  Is  a  small  apartment  in- 
tended for  a  library.  It  was  to  this  that  I  cautiously  groped 
my  way;  and  you  will  see  how  fortune  had  exactly  served 
me.  The  weather,  I  have  said,  was  sultry:  in  order  to  ven- 
tilate the  dining-room  and  yet  preserve  the  uninhabited  ap- 
pearance of  the  mansion  to  the  front,  the  window  of  the 
library  had  been  widely  opened  and  the  door  of  communica- 
tion between  the  two  apartments  left  ajar.  To  this  interval 
I  now  applied  my  eye. 

Wax  tapers,  set  in  silver  candlesticks,  shed  their  chastened 
brightness  on  the  damask  of  the  tablecloth  and  the  remains 
of  a  cold  collation  of  the  rarest  delicacy.  The  two  gentle- 
men had  finished  supper,  and  were  now  trifling  with  cigars 
and  maraschino;  while  in  a  silver  spirit  lamp,  coff^ee  of  the 
most  captivating  fragrance  was  preparing  in  the  fashion 
of  the  East.  The  elder  of  the  two,  he  who  had  first  arrived, 
was  placed  directly  facing  me;  the  other  was  set  on  his  left 
hand.  Both,  like  the  man  in  the  butler's  pantry,  seemed  to 
be  intently  listening ;  and  on  the  face  of  the  second  I  thought 
I  could  perceive  the  marks  of  fear.  Oddly  enough,  however, 
when  they  came  to  speak,  the  parts  were  found  to  be 
reversed. 

*'  I  assure  you,"  said  the  elder  gentleman,  "  I  not  only 

406 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD   LADY 

heard  the  slamming  of  a  door,  but  the  sound  of  very 
guarded  foot-steps." 

"  Your  highness  was  certainly  deceived,"  replied  the 
other.  "  I  am  endowed  with  the  acutest  hearing,  and  I  can 
swear  that  not  a  mouse  has  rustled."  Yet  the  pallor  and 
contraction  of  his  features  were  in  total  discord  with  the 
tenor  of  his  words. 

His  highness  (whom,  of  course,  I  readily  divined  to  be 
Prince  Florizel)  looked  at  his  companion  for  the  least  frac- 
tion of  a  second;  and  though  notliing  shook  the  easy  quiet 
of  his  attitude,  I  could  see  that  he  was  far  from  being  duped. 
"  It  is  well,"  said  he ;  "  let  us  dismiss  the  topic.  And  now, 
sir,  that  I  have  very  freely  explained  the  sentiments  by 
which  I  am  directed,  let  me  ask  3'ou,  according  to  your 
promise,  to  imitate  my  frankness." 

"  I  have  heard  you,"  replied  the  other,  "  with  great 
interest." 

"  With  singular  patience,"  said  the  prince  politely. 

"  Ay,  your  highness,  and  with  unlooked-for  sympathy," 
returned  the  young  man.  "  I  know  not  how  to  tell  the 
change  that  has  befallen  me.  You  have,  I  must  suppose,  a 
charm,  to  which  even  your  enemies  are  subject."  He  looked 
at  the  clock  on  the  mantel-piece  and  visibly  blanched.  "  So 
late ! "  he  cried.  "  Your  highness — God  knows  I  am 
speaking  from  the  heart — before  it  be  too  late,  leave  this 
house ! " 

The  prince  glanced  once  more  at  his  companion,  and 
then  very  deliberately  shook  the  ash  from  his  cigar.  "  That 
is  a  strange  remark,"  said  he ;  "  and  a  propos  de  bottes,  I 
never  continue  a  cigar  when  once  the  ash  is  fallen ;  the  spell 
breaks,  the  soul  of  the  flavor  flies  away,  and  there  remains 
but  the  dead  body  of  tobacco ;  and  I  make  it  a  rule  to  throw 
away  that  husk  and  choose  another."  He  suited  the  action 
to  the  words. 

"  Do  not  trifle  with  my  appeal,"  resumed  the  young  man 
in  tones  that  trembled  with  emotion.  "  It  is  made  at  the 
price  of  my  honor  and  to  the  peril  of  my  life.  Go — go 
now !  lose  not  a  moment ;  and  if  you  have  any  kindness  for 

407 


THE   DYNAMITER 

a  young  man,  miserably  deceived  indeed,  but  not  devoid  of 
better  sentiments,  look  not  behind  you  as  you  leave." 

"  Sir,"  said  the  prince,  "  I  am  here  upon  your  honor ;  I 
assure  you  upon  mine  that  I  shall  continue  to  rely  upon 
that  safeguard.  The  coffee  is  ready;  I  must  again  trouble 
you,  I  fear."  And  with  a  courteous  movement  of  the  hand, 
he  seemed  to  invite  his  companion  to  pour  out  the  coffee. 

The  unhappy  young  man  rose  from  his  seat.  "  I  appeal 
to  you,"  he  cried,  "  by  every  holy  sentiment,  in  mercy  to  me, 
if  not  in  pity  to  yourself,  begone  before  it  is  too  late." 

"  Sir,"  replied  the  prince,  "  I  am  not  readily  accessible  to 
fear ;  and  if  there  is  one  defect  to  which  I  must  plead  guilty, 
it  is  that  of  a  curious  disposition.  You  go  the  wrong  way 
about  to  make  me  leave  this  house,  in  which  I  play  the  part 
of  your  entertainer;  and,  suffer  me  to  add,  young  man,  if 
any  peril  threaten  us,  it  was  of  your  contriving,  not  of 
mine." 

"  Alas,  you  do  not  know  to  what  you  condemn  me,"  cried 
the  other.  "  But  I  at  least  will  have  no  hand  in  it."  With 
these  words  he  carried  his  hand  to  his  pocket,  hastily  swal- 
lowed the  contents  of  a  phial,  and,  with  the  very  act,  reeled 
back  and  fell  across  his  chair  upon  the  floor.  The  prince 
left  his  place  and  came  and  stood  above  him,  where  he  lay 
convulsed  upon  the  carpet.  "  Poor  moth !  "  I  heard  his 
highness  murmur.  "  Alas,  poor  moth !  must  we  again  in- 
quire which  is  the  more  fatal — weakness  or  wickedness? 
And  can  a  sympathy  with  ideas,  surely  not  ignoble  in  them- 
selves, conduct  a  man  to  this  dishonorable  death .'^  " 

By  this  time  I  had  pushed  the  door  open  and  walked  into 
the  room.  "  Your  highness,"  said  I,  "  this  is  no  time  for 
moralizing;  with  a  little  promptness  we  may  save  this 
creature's  life;  and  as  for  the  other,  he  need  cause  you  no 
concern,  for  I  have  him  safely  under  lock  and  key." 

The  prince  had  turned  about  upon  my  entrance,  and  re- 
garded me  certainly  with  no  alarm,  but  with  a  profundity 
of  wonder  which  almost  robbed  me  of  my  self-possession. 
"  My  dear  madam,"  he  cried  at  last,  "  and  who  the  devil 
are  you.''  " 

408 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD   LADY 

I  was  already  on  the  floor  beside  the  dying  man.  I  had, 
of  course,  no  idea  with  what  drug  he  had  attempted  his 
life,  and  I  was  forced  to  try  him  with  a  variety  of  antidotes. 
Here  were  both  oil  and  vinegar,  for  the  prince  had  done  the 
young  man  the  honor  of  compounding  for  him  one  of  his 
celebrated  salads ;  and  of  each  of  these  I  administered  from 
a  quarter  to  half  a  pint,  with  no  apparent  efficacy.  I  next 
plied  him  with  the  hot  coffee,  of  which  there  may  have  been 
near  upon  a  quart. 

"  Have  you  no  milk?  "  I  inquired. 

"  I  fear,  madam,  that  milk  has  been  omitted,"  returned 
the  prince. 

"  Salt,  then,"  said  I ;  "  salt  is  a  revulsive.  Pass  the 
salt." 

"And  possibly  the  mustard?"  asked  his  higliness,  as  he 
offered  me  the  contents  of  the  various  salt-cellars  poured 
together  on  a  plate, 

"  Ah,"  cried  I,  "  the  thought  is  excellent !  Mix  me  about 
half  a  pint  of  mustard,  drinkably  dilute." 

Whether  it  was  the  salt  or  the  mustard,  or  the  mere  com- 
bination of  so  many  subversive  agents,  as  soon  as  the  last 
had  been  poured  over  his  throat,  the  young  sufferer  obtained 
relief. 

"  There ! "  I  exclaimed,  with  natural  triumph,  "  I  have 
saved  a  Hf e !  " 

"  And  yet,  madam,"  returned  the  prince,  "  j^our  mercy 
may  be  cruelty  disguised.  Where  the  honor  is  lost,  it  is,  at 
least,  superfluous  to  prolong  the  life." 

"  If  you  had  led  a  life  as  changeable  as  mine,  your  high- 
ness," I  replied,  "  you  would  hold  a  very  different  opinion. 
For  my  part,  and  after  whatever  extremity  of  misfor- 
tune or  disgrace,  I  should  still  count  to-morrow  worth  a 
trial." 

"  You  speak  as  a  lady,  madam,"  said  the  prince ;  "  and 
for  such  you  speak  the  truth.  But  to  men  there  is  permitted 
such  a  field  of  license,  and  the  good  behavior  asked  of  them 
is  at  once  so  easy  and  so  little,  that  to  fail  in  that  is  to  fall 
beyond  the  reach  of  pardon.     But  wiU  you  suffer  me  to 

409 


THE  DYNAMITER 

repeat  a  question,  put  to  you  at  first,  I  am  afraid,  with 
some  defect  of  courtesy ;  and  to  ask  you  once  more,  who  you 
are  and  how  I  have  the  honor  of  your  company?  " 

'•  I  am  the  proprietor  of  the  house  in  which  we  stand," 
said  I. 

"  And  still  I  am  at  fault,"  returned  the  prince. 

But  at  that  moment  the  timepiece  on  the  mantel-shelf 
began  to  strike  the  hour  of  twelve;  and  the  young  man, 
raising  himself  upon  one  elbow,  with  an  expression  of 
despair  and  horror  that  I  have  never  seen  excelled,  cried 
lamentably:  "Midnight?  O  just  God."  We  stood  frozen 
to  our  places,  while  the  tingling  hammer  of  the  timepiece 
measured  the  remaining  strokes ;  nor  had  we  yet  stirred,  so 
tragic  had  been  the  tones  of  the  young  man,  when  the 
various  bells  of  London  began  in  turn  to  declare  the  hour. 
The  timepiece  was  inaudible  beyond  the  walls  of  the  chamber 
where  we  stood;  but  the  second  pulsation  of  Big  Ben  had 
scarcely  throbbed  into  the  night,  before  a  sharp  detonation 
rang  about  the  house.  The  prince  sprang  for  the  door  by 
which  I  had  entered ;  but  quick  as  he  was,  I  yet  contrived  to 
intetjXiept  him. 

"  Are  you  armed?  "  I  cried. 

"  No,  madam,"  replied  he.  "  You  remind  me  appositely ; 
I  will  take  the  poker." 

"  The  man  below,"  said  I,  "  has  two  revolvers.  Would 
you  confront  him  at  such  odds  ?  " 

He  paused,  as  though  staggered  in  his  purpose.  "  And 
yet,  madam,"  said  he,  "  we  can  not  continue  to  remain  in 
ignorance  of  what  has  passed." 

"  No!  "  cried  I.  "  And  who  proposes  it?  I  am  as  curious 
as  yourself,  but  let  us  rather  send  for  the  police;  or,  if 
3'our  highness  dreads  a  scandal,  for  some  of  your  own 
sem^ants." 

"  Nay,  madam,"  he  replied,  smiling,  "  for  so  brave  a  lady, 
you  surprise  me.  Would  you  have  me,  then,  send  others 
where  I  fear  to  go  myself?  " 

"  You  are  perfectly  right,"  said  I,  "  and  I  was  entirely 
wrong.    Go,  in  God's  name,  and  I  will  hold  the  candle  1 " 

410 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

Together,  therefore,  we  descended  to  the  lower  story,  he 
carrying  the  poker,  I  the  light ;  and  together  we  approached 
and  opened  the  door  of  the  butler's  pantry.  In  some  sort, 
I  beheve,  I  was  prepared  for  the  spectacle  that  met  our 
eyes;  I  was  prepared,  that  is,  to  find  the  villain  dead,  but 
the  rude  details  of  such  a  violent  suicide  I  was  unable  to 
endure.  The  prince,  unshaken  by  horror  as  he  had  remained 
unshaken  by  alarm,  assisted  me  with  the  most  respectful  gal- 
lantry to  regain  the  dining-room. 

There  we  found  our  patient,  still,  indeed,  deadly  pale, 
but  vastly  recovered  and  already  seated  on  a  chair.  He 
held  out  both  his  hands  with  a  most  pitiful  gesture  of  inter- 
rogation. 

"  He  is  dead,"  said  the  prince. 

"  Alas !  "  cried  the  young  man,  "  and  it  should  be  I ! 
What  do  I  do,  thus  lingering  on  the  stage  I  have  disgraced, 
while  he,  my  sure  comrade,  blameworthy  indeed  for  much, 
but  yet  the  soul  of  fidelity,  has  judged  and  slain  himself  for 
an  involuntary  fault?  Ah,  sir,"  said  he,  "  and  you  too, 
madam,  without  whose  cruel  help  I  should  be  now  beyond 
the  reach  of  my  accusing  conscience,  you  behold  in  me  the 
victim  equally  of  my  o^\ti  faults  and  virtues.  I  was  born  a 
hater  of  injustice;  from  my  most  tender  years  my  blood 
boiled  against  heaven  when  I  beheld  the  sick,  and  against 
men  when  I  witnessed  the  sorrows  of  the  poor ;  the  pauper's 
crust  stuck  in  my  throat  when  I  sat  down  to  eat  my  dainties, 
and  the  crippled  child  has  set  me  weeping.  What  was  there 
in  that,  but  what  was  noble?  and  yet  observe  to  what  a  fall 
these  thoughts  have  led  me !  Year  after  year  this  passion 
for  the  lost  besieged  me  closer.  What  hope  was  there  in 
kings?  what  hope  in  these  well-feathered  classes  that  now 
roll  in  money?  I  had  observed  the  course  of  history ;  I  knew 
the  burgess,  our  ruler  of  to-day,  to  be  base,  cowardly  and 
dull;  I  saw  him,  in  every  age,  combine  to  pull  down  that 
which  was  immediately  above  and  to  prey  upon  those  that 
were  below;  his  dullness,  I  knew,  would  ultimately  bring 
about  his  ruin ;  I  knew  his  days  were  numbered,  and  yet  how 
was  I  to  wait?  how  was  I  to  let  the  poor  cliild  shiver  in  the 

411 


THE  DYNAIVIITER 

rain?  Tlie  better  days,  indeed,  were  coming,  but  the  child 
would  die  before  that.  Alas,  your  highness,  in  surely  no 
ungenerous  impatience  I  enrolled  myself  among  the  enemies 
of  this  unjust  and  doomed  society;  in  surely  no  unnatural 
desire  to  keep  the  fires  of  my  philanthropy  alight,  I  bound 
myself  by  an  irrevocable  oath. 

"  That  oath  is  all  my  history.  To  give  freedom  to  pos- 
terity, I  have  forsworn  my  own.  I  must  attend  upon  every 
signal;  and  soon  my  father  complained  of  my  irregular 
hours  and  turned  me  from  his  house.  I  was  engaged  in 
betrothal  to  an  honest  girl ;  from  her  also  I  had  to  part,  for 
she  was  too  shrewd  to  credit  my  inventions  and  too  innocent 
to  be  intrusted  with  the  truth.  Behold  me,  then,  alone  with 
conspirators !  Alas !  as  the  years  went  on,  my  illusions  left 
me.  Surrounded  as  I  was  by  the  fervent  disciples  and 
apologists  of  revolution,  I  beheld  them  daily  advance  in 
confidence  and  desperation ;  I  beheld  myself,  upon  the  other 
hand,  and  with  an  almost  equal  regularity,  decline  in  faith. 
I  had  sacrificed  all  to  further  that  cause  in  which  I  still 
beheved;  and  daily  I  began  to  grow  in  doubts  if  we  were 
advancing  it  indeed.  Horrible  was  the  society  with  which 
we  warred,  but  our  own  means  were  not  less  horrible. 

"  I  will  not  dwell  upon  my  sufferings ;  I  will  not  pause  to 
tell  you  how,  when  I  beheld  young  men  still  free  and  happy, 
married,  fathers  of  children,  cheerfully  toiling  at  their 
work,  my  heart  reproached  me  with  the  greatness  and  vanity 
of  my  unhappy  sacrifice.  I  will  not  describe  to  you  how, 
worn  by  poverty,  poor  lodging,  scanty  food,  and  an  unquiet 
conscience,  my  health  began  to  fail,  and  in  the  long  nights, 
as  I  wandered  bedless  in  the  rainy  streets,  the  most  ci'uel 
suflTerings  of  the  body  were  added  to  the  tortures  of  the 
mind.  These  things  are  not  personal  to  me ;  they  are  com- 
mon to  all  unfortunates  in  my  position.  An  oath,  so  light 
a  thing  to  swear,  so  grave  a  thing  to  break:  an  oath,  taken 
in  the  heat  of  youth,  repented  with  what  sobbings  of  the 
heart,  but  yet  in  vain  repented,  as  the  years  go  on :  an  oath, 
that  was  once  the  very  utterance  of  the  truth  of  God,  but 
that   falls  to   be   the   symbol   of   a   meaningless    and   empty 

4,13 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

slavery;  such  is  the  yoke  that  many  young  men  joyfully 
assume,  and  under  whose  dead  weight  they  live  to  suffer 
worse  than  death. 

"  It  is  not  that  I  was  patient.  I  have  begged  to  be  re- 
leased; but  I  knew  too  much,  and  was  still  refused.  I  have 
fled;  ay,  and  for  the  time  successfully.  I  reached  Paris.  I 
found  a  lodging  in  the  Rue  St.  Jacques,  almost  opposite 
the  Val  de  Grace.  My  room  was  mean  and  bare,  but  the 
sun  looked  into  it  toward  evening:  it  commanded  a  peep  of 
a  green  garden;  a  bird  hung  by  a  neighbor's  window  and 
made  the  morning  beautiful;  and  I,  who  was  sick,  might 
lie  in  bed  and  rest  myself:  I  who  was  in  full  revolt  against 
the  principles  that  I  had  served,  and  was  no  longer  at  the 
beck  of  the  council,  and  was  no  longer  charged  with  shame- 
ful and  revolting  tasks.  Oh!  what  an  interval  of  peace  was 
that!  I  still  dream  at  times  that  I  can  hear  the  note  of  my 
neighbor's  bird. 

"  My  money  was  running  out,  and  it  became  necessary 
that  I  should  find  employment.  Scarcely  had  I  been  three 
days  upon  the  search,  ere  I  thought  that  I  was  being  fol- 
lowed. I  made  certain  of  the  features  of  the  man,  which 
were  quite  strange  to  me,  and  turned  into  a  small  cafe, 
where  I  whiled  away  an  hour,  pretending  to  read  the  papers, 
but  inwardly  convulsed  with  terror.  When  I  came  forth 
into  the  street,  it  was  quite  empty,  and  I  breathed  again ; 
but  alas,  I  had  not  turned  three  corners,  when  I  once  more 
observed  the  human  hound  pursuing  me.  Not  an  hour  was 
to  be  lost;  timely  submission  might  yet  preserve  a  life  which 
otherwise  was  forfeited  and  dishonored ;  and  I  fled  with 
what  speed  you  may  conceive,  to  the  Paris  agency  of  the 
society  I  served. 

"  My  submission  was  accepted.  I  took  up  once  more 
the  hated  burden  of  that  life ;  once  more  I  was  at  the  call  of 
men  whom  I  despised  and  hated,  while  yet  I  envied  and  ad- 
mired them.  They  were  whole-hearted  in  the  things  they 
proposed ;  but  I,  who  had  once  been  such  as  they,  had  fallen 
from  the  brightness  of  my  faith,  and  now  labored,  like  a 
hireling,  for  the  wages  of  a  loathed  existence.     Ay,  sir,  to 

413 


THE   DYNAMITER 

that  I  was  condemned;  I  obeyed  to  continue  to  live,  and 
lived  but  to  obey. 

"  The  last  charge  that  was  laid  upon  me  was  the  one 
which  has  to-night  so  tragically  ended.  Boldly  telling  who 
I  was,  I  was  to  request  from  your  highness,  on  behalf  of  my 
society,  a  private  audience,  where  it  was  designed  to  murder 
you.  If  one  thing  remained  to  me  of  my  old  convictions,  it 
was  the  hate  of  kings ;  and  when  this  task  was  offered  me, 
I  took  it  gladly.  Alas,  sir,  you  triumphed.  As  we  supped, 
you  gained  upon  my  heart.  Your  character,  your  talents, 
your  designs  for  our  unhappy  country,  all  had  been  mis- 
represented. I  began  to  forget  you  were  a  prince ;  I  began, 
all  too  feelingly,  to  remember  that  you  were  a  man.  As  I 
saw  the  hour  approach,  I  suffered  agonies  untold ;  and  when, 
at  last,  we  heard  the  slamming  of  the  door  which  announced 
in  my  unwilling  ears  the  arrival  of  the  partner  of  my  crime, 
you  will  bear  me  out  with  what  instancy  I  besought  you  to 
depart.  You  would  not,  alas;  and  what  could  I.''  Kill  you, 
I  could  not ;  my  heart  revolted,  my  hand  turned  back  from 
such  a  deed.  Yet  it  was  impossible  that  I  should  suffer  you 
to  stay ;  for  when  the  hour  struck  and  my  companion  came, 
true  to  appointment,  and  he,  at  least  true  to  design,  I  could 
neither  suffer  you  to  be  killed  nor  yet  him  to  be  arrested. 
From  such  a  tragic  passage,  death,  and  death  alone  could 
save  me ;  and  it  is  no  fault  of  mine  if  I  continue  to  exist. 

"  But  you,  madam,"  continued  the  young  man,  address- 
ing himself  more  directly  to  myself,  "  were  doubtless  born 
to  save  the  prince  and  to  confound  our  purposes.  My  hfe 
you  have  prolonged;  and  by  turning  the  key  on  my  com- 
panion, you  have  made  me  the  author  of  his  death.  He 
heard  the  hour  strike ;  he  was  impotent  to  help ;  and  think- 
ing himself  forfeit  to  honor,  thinking  that  I  should  fall 
alone  upon  his  highness  and  perish  for  lack  of  his  support, 
he  has  turned  his  pistol  on  himself." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Prince  Florizel :  "  it  was  in  no 
ungenerous  spirit  that  you  brought  these  burdens  on  your- 
self; and  when  I  see  you  so  nobly  to  blame,  so  tragically 
punished,  I  stand  like  one  reproved.     For  is  it  not  strange, 

414 


THE    SPIRITED    OLD    LADY 

madam,  that  jou  and  I,  by  practicing  accepted  and  incon- 
siderable virtues,  and  commonplace  but  still  unpardonable 
faults,  should  stand  here,  in  the  sight  of  God,  with  what  we 
call  clean  hands  and  quiet  consciences ;  while  this  poor  youth, 
for  an  error  that  I  could  almost  envy  him,  should  be  sunk 
beyond  the  reach  of  hope? 

"  Sir,"  resumed  the  prince,  turning  to  the  young  man, 
"  I  can  not  help  you ;  my  help  would  but  unchain  the  thun- 
derbolt that  overhangs  you;  and  I  can  but  leave  you  free." 

"  And,  sir,"  said  I,  "  as  this  house  belongs  to  me,  I  will 
ask  you  to  have  the  kindness  to  remove  the  body.  You  and 
your  conspirators,  it  appears  to  me,  can  hardly  in  civility 
do  less." 

"  It  shall  be  done,"  said  the  young  man,  with  a  dismal 
accent. 

"  And  you,  dear  madam,"  said  the  prince,  "  you,  to  whom 
I  owe  my  life,  how  can  I  serve  you?  " 

"  Your  highness,"  I  said,  "  to  be  very  plain,  this  is  my 
favorite  house,  being  not  only  a  valuable  property,  but 
endeared  to  me  by  various  associations.  I  have  endless 
troubles  with  tenants  of  the  ordinary  class ;  and  at  first 
applauded  my  good  fortune  when  I  found  one  of  the  station 
of  your  Master  of  the  Horse.  I  now  begin  to  think  other- 
wise :  dangers  set  a  siege  about  great  personages ;  and  I  do 
not  wish  my  tenement  to  share  these  risks.  Procure  me  the 
resiliation  of  the  lease,  and  I  shall  feel  myself  your  debtor." 

"  I  must  tell  you,  madam,"  replied  his  highness,  "  that 
Colonel  Geraldine  is  but  a  cloak  for  myself;  and  I  should 
be  sorry  indeed  to  think  myself  so  unacceptable  a  tenant." 

"  Your  highness,"  said  I,  "  I  have  conceived  a  sincere  ad- 
miration for  your  character;  but  on  the  subject  of  house 
property,  I  can  not  allow  the  interference  of  my  feelings. 
I  will,  however,  to  prove  to  you  that  there  is  nothing  per- 
sonal In  my  request,  here  solemnly  engage  my  word  that  I 
will  never  put  another  tenant  in  this  house." 

"  Madam,"  said  Florizel,  "  you  plead  your  cause  too 
charmingly  to  be  refused." 

Thereupon  we  all  three  withdrew.     The  young  man,  still 

41d 


THE   DYNAMITER 

reeling  in  his  walk,  departed  by  himself  to  seek  the  assist- 
ance of  his  fellow  conspirators ;  and  the  prince,  with  the 
most  attentive  gallantry,  lent  me  his  escort  to  the  door  of 
my  hotel.  The  next  day,  the  lease  was  canceled;  nor  from 
that  hour  to  this,  though  sometimes  regretting  my  engage- 
ment, have  I  suffered  a  tenant  in  this  house. 


THE  suPEarLuous  MANSION  {contmued') 

AS  soon  as  the  old  lady  had  finished  her  relation,  Somer- 
.  set  made  haste  to  offer  her  his  compliments. 

"  Madam,"  said  he,  "  your  story  is  not  only  entertaining, 
but  instructive;  and  you  have  told  it  with  infinite  vivacity. 
I  was  much  affected  toward  the  end,  as  I  held  at  one  time 
very  hberal  opinions,  and  should  certainly  have  joined  a 
secret  society  if  I  had  been  able  to  find  one.  But  the  whole 
tale  came  home  to  me;  and  I  was  the  better  able  to  feel  for 
you  in  your  various  perplexities,  as  I  am  myself  of  some- 
what hasty  temper." 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,"  said  Mrs.  Luxmore,  in  a 
very  high  key.  "  You  must  have  strangely  misinterpreted 
what  I  have  told  you.  You  must  be  a  singularly  dense 
young  man." 

Somerset,  seeing  no  probable  termination  to  the  lady's 
anger,  hurried  to  recant. 

"  Dear  Mrs.  Luxmore,"  said  he,  "  you  certainly  miscon- 
strue my  remark.  As  a  man  of  somewhat  fiery  humor,  my 
conscience  repeatedly  pricked  me  when  I  heard  what  you 
had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  persons  similarly  constituted." 

"  Oh,  very  well  indeed,"  replied  the  old  lady ;  "  and  a  \cvy 
proper  spirit.     I  regret  that  I  have  met  with  it  so  rarely." 

"  But  in  all  this,"  resumed  the  young  man,  "  I  perceive 
notliing  that  concerns  myself," 

"  I  am  about  to  come  to  that,"  she  returned.  "  And  you 
have  already  before  you,  in  the  pledge  I  gave  Prince  Flor- 
izel,  one  of  the  elements  of  the  affair.  I  am  a  woman  of  the 
nomadic  sort,  and  when  I  have  no  case  before  the  courts  I 
make  it  a  habit  to  visit  continental  spas:  not  that  I  have 
ever  been  ill,  but  then  I  am  no  longer  young,  and  I  am 
alwa^  happy  in  a  crowd.     Well,  to  come  more  shortly  to 

417 


THE   DYNAMITER 

the  point,  I  am  now  on  the  wing  for  Evian ;  this  incubus  of 
a  house,  which  I  must  leave  behind  and  dare  not  let,  hangs 
heavily  upon  my  hands ;  and  I  propose  to  rid  myself  of  that 
concern,  and  do  you  a  very  good  turn  into  the  bargain,  by 
lending  you  the  mansion,  with  all  its  fittings,  as  it  stands. 
The  idea  was  sudden ;  it  appealed  to  me  as  humorous ;  and 
I  am  sure  it  will  cause  my  relatives,  if  they  should  ever  hear 
of  it,  the  keenest  possible  chagrin.  Here,  then,  is  the  key, 
and  when  you  return  at  two  to-morrow  afternoon,  you  will 
find  neither  me  nor  my  cats  to  disturb  you  in  your  new 
possession." 

So  saying,  the  old  lady  arose,  as  if  to  dismiss  her  visitor, 
but  Somerset,  looking  somewhat  blankly  on  the  key,  began 
to  protest. 

"  Dear  Mrs.  Luxmore,"  said  he,  "  this  is  a  most  unusual 
proposal.  You  know  nothing  of  me,  beyond  the  fact  that  I 
displayed  both  impudence  and  timidity.  I  may  be  the  worst 
kind  of  scoundrel ;  I  may  sell  your  furniture ^" 

"  You  may  blow  up  the  house  with  gunpowder  for  what  I 
care ! "  cried  Mrs.  Luxmore.  "  It  is  in  vain  to  reason. 
Such  is  the  force  of  my  character  that,  when  I  have  one  idea 
clearly  in  my  head,  I  do  not  care  two  straws  for  any  side 
consideration.  It  amuses  me  to  do  it,  and  let  that  suffice. 
On  your  side,  you  may  do  what  you  please — let  apartments, 
or  keep  a  private  hotel;  on  my  part,  I  promise  you  a  full 
month's  warning  before  I  return,  and  I  never  fail  religiously 
to  keep  my  promises." 

The  young  man  was  about  to  renew  his  protest,  when  he 
observed  a  sudden  and  significant  change  in  the  old  lady's 
countenance. 

"  If  I  thought  you  capable  of  disrespect !  "  she  cried. 

"  Madam,"  said  Somerset,  with  the  extreme  fervor  of 
asseveration,  "  madam,  I  accept.  I  beg  you  to  understand 
that  I  accept  with  joy  and  gratitude." 

"  Ah,  well,"  returned  Mrs.  Luxmore,  "  if  I  am  mistaken, 
let  it  pass.  And  now,  since  all  is  comfortably  settled,  Jewish 
you  a  good-night." 

Thereupon,  as  if  to  leave  him  no  room  for  repentance  she 

41$ 


I 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

hurried  Somerset  out  of  the  front  door,  and  left  him  stand- 
ing, key  in  hand,  upon  the  pavement. 

The  next  day,  about  the  hour  appointed,  the  young  man 
found  his  way  to  the  Square,  which  I  will  here  call  Golden 
Square,  though  that  was  not  its  name.  What  to  expect,  he 
knew  not ;  for  a  man  may  live  in  dreams,  and  yet  be  unpre- 
pared for  their  realization.  It  was  already  with  a  certain 
pang  of  surprise  that  he  beheld  the  mansion,  standing  in  the 
eye  of  day,  a  solid  among  solids.  The  key,  upon  trial, 
readily  opened  the  front  door;  he  entered  that  great  house, 
a  privileged  burglar;  and  escorted  by  the  echoes  of  deser- 
tion, rapidly  reviewed  the  empty  chambers.  Cats,  servant, 
old  lady,  the  very  marks  of  habitation,  Hke  writing  on  a 
slate,  had  been  in  these  few  hours  obliterated.  He  wandered 
from  floor  to  floor ;  and  found  the  house  of  great  extent ; 
the  kitchen  offices  commodious  and  well-appointed ;  the  rooms 
many  and  large ;  and  the  drawing-room,  in  particular,  an 
apartment  of  princely  size  and  tasteful  decoration.  Al- 
though the  day  without  was  warm,  genial  and  sunny,  with  a 
ruffling  wind  from  the  quarter  of  Torquay,  a  chill,  as  it 
were,  of  suspended  animation,  inhabited  the  house.  Dust 
and  shadows  met  the  eye ;  and  but  for  the  ominous  proces- 
sion of  the  echoes,  and  the  rumor  of  the  wind  among  the 
garden  trees,  the  ear  of  the  young  man  was  stretched  in 
vain. 

Behind  the  dining-room,  that  pleasant  library,  referred 
to  by  the  old  lady  in  her  tale,  looked  upon  the  flat  roofs  and 
netted  cupolas  of  the  kitchen  quarters,  and  on  a  second 
visit  this  room  appeared  to  greet  him  with  a  smiling  counte- 
nance. He  might  as  well,  he  thought,  avoid  the  expense  of 
lodging:  the  library,  fitted  with  an  iron  bedstead  which  he 
had  remarked  in  one  of  the  upper  chambers,  would  serve  his 
purpose  for  the  night;  while  in  the  dining-room,  which  was 
large,  airy  and  lightsome,  looking  on  the  square  and  garden, 
he  might  very  agreeably  pass  his  days,  cook  his  meals,  and 
study  to  bring  himself  to  some  proficiency  in  that  art  of 
painting  which  he  had  recently  determined  to  adopt.  It  did 
not  take  him  long  to  make  the  change ;  he  had  soon  returned 

419 


THE   DYNAMITER 

to  the  mansion  with  his  modest  kit,  and  the  cabman  who 
brought  him  was  readily  induced,  by  the  young  man's  pleas- 
ant manner  and  a  small  gratuity,  to  assist  him  in  the  in- 
stallation of  the  iron  bed.  By  six  in  the  evening,  when 
Somerset  went  forth  to  dine,  he  was  able  to  look  back  upon 
the  mansion  with  a  sense  of  pride  and  property.  Four- 
square it  stood,  of  an  imposing  frontage,  and  flanked  on 
cither  side  by  family  hatchments.  His  eye,  from  where  he 
stood  whistling  in  the  key,  with  his  back  to  the  garden  rail- 
ings, reposed  on  every  feature  of  reahty,  and  yet  his  own 
possession  seemed  as  flimsy  as  a  dream. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  genteel  inhabitants  of  the 
square  began  to  remark  the  customs  of  their  neighbor.  The 
sight  of  a  young  gentleman  discussing  a  clay  pipe  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  in  the  drawing-room  balcony 
of  so  discreet  a  mansion,  and  perhaps  still  more,  his 
periodical  excursion  to  a  decent  tavern  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  his  unabashed  return,  nursing  the  full  tankard:  had 
presently  raised  to  a  high  pitch  the  interest  and  indignation 
of  the  Hveried  servants  of  the  square.  The  disfavor  of  some 
of  these  gentlemen  at  first  proceeded  to  the  length  of  insult ; 
but  Somerset  knew  how  to  be  affable  with  any  class  of  men ; 
and  a  few  rude  words  merrily  accepted  and  a  few  glasses 
amicably  shared,  gained  for  him  the  right  of  toleration. 

The  young  man  had  embraced  the  art  of  Raphael,  partly 
from  a  notion  of  its  ease,  partly  from  an  inborn  distrust  of 
offices.  He  scorned  to  bear  the  yoke  of  any  regular  school- 
ing, and  proceeded  to  turn  one  half  of  the  dining-room  into 
a  studio  for  the  reproduction  of  still  Hfe.  There  he  amassed 
a  variety  of  objects,  indiscriminately  chosen  from  the 
kitchen,  the  drawing-room,  and  the  back  garden,  and  there 
spent  his  days  in  smiling  assiduity.  Meantime,  the  great 
bulk  of  empty  building  overhead  lay  hke  a  load  upon  his 
imagination.  To  hold  so  great  a  stake  and  to  do  nothing, 
argued  some  defect  of  energy,  and  he  at  length  {determined 
to  act  upon  the  hint  given  by  Mrs.  Luxmore  herself,  and  to 
stick  with  wafers  in  the  window  of  the  dining-room  a  small 
handbill  announcing  furnished  lodgings.     At  half-past  six 

420 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

of  a  fine  July  morning  he  affixed  the  bill  and  went  forth  into 
the  square  to  study  the  result.  It  seemed,  to  his  eye,  prom- 
ising and  unpretentious,  and  he  returned  to  the  drawing- 
room  balcony  to  consider  over  a  studious  pipe  the  knotty 
problem  of  how  much  he  was  to  charge. 

Thereupon  he  somewhat  relaxed  in  his  devotion  to  the  art 
of  painting.  Indeed,  from  that  time  forth,  he  would  spend 
the  best  part  of  the  day  in  the  front  balcony,  like  the  atten- 
tive angler  poring  on  his  float ;  and  the  better  to  support  the 
tedium,  he  would  frequently  console  himself  with  liis  clay 
pipe.  On  several  occasions  passers-by  appeared  to  be  ar- 
rested by  the  ticket,  and  on  several  others  ladies  and  gentle- 
men drove  to  the  very  doorstep  by  the  carriageful;  but  it 
appeared  there  was  something  repulsive  in  the  appearance 
of  the  house,  for  with  one  accord,  they  would  cast  but  one 
look  upward  and  hastily  resume  their  onward  progress  or 
direct  the  driver  to  proceed.  Somerset  had  thus  the  mor- 
tification of  actually  meeting  the  eye  of  a  large  number  of 
lodging-seekers ;  and  though  he  hastened  to  withdraw  his 
pipe  and  to  compose  his  features  to  an  air  of  invitation,  he 
was  never  rewarded  by  so  much  as  an  inquiry.  "  Can 
there,"  he  thought,  "be  any  thing  repellent  in  myself?" 
But  a  candid  examination  in  one  of  the  pier-glasses  of  the 
drawing-room  led  him  to  dismiss  the  fear. 

Something,  however,  was  amiss.  His  vast  and  accurate 
calculations  on  the  fly-leaves  of  books,  or  on  the  backs  of 
playbills,  appeared  to  have  been  an  idle  sacrifice  of  time. 
By  these,  he  had  variously  computed  the  weekly  takings  of 
the  house,  from  sums  as  modest  as  five-and-twenty  shillings, 
up  to  the  more  majestic  figure  of  a  hundred  pounds;  and 
yet,  in  despite  of  the  very  elements  of  arithmetic,  here  he 
was  making  literally  nothing. 

This  incongruity  impressed  him  deeply  and  occupied  his 
thoughtful  leisure  on  the  balcony ;  and  at  last  it  seemed  to 
him  that  he  had  detected  the  error  of  his  method.  "  This," 
he  reflected,  "  is  an  age  of  generous  display :  the  age  of  the 
sandwich-man,  of  Griffiths,  of  Pears'  legendary  soap,  and 
of  Eno's   fruit   salt,   which,  by   sheer  brass   and  notoriety, 

421 


THE   DYNAMITER 

and  the  most  disgusting  pictures  I  ever  remember  to  have 
seen,  has  overlaid  that  comforter  of  my  childhood,  Lam- 
plough's  pyretic  saline.  Lamplough  was  genteel,  Eno  was 
omnipresent;  Lamplough  was  trite,  Eno  original  and 
abominably  vulgar;  and  here  have  I,  a  man  of  some  preten- 
sions to  knowledge  of  the  world,  contented  myself  with  half 
a  sheet  of  note-paper,  a  few  cold  words  which  do  not  directly 
address  the  imagination,  and  the  adornment  (if  adornment 
it  may  be  called)  of  four  red  wafers !  Am  I,  then,  to  sink 
with  Lamplough,  or  to  soar  with  Eno?  Am  I  to  adopt  that 
modesty  which  is  doubtless  becoming  in  a  duke?  or  to  take 
hold  of  the  red  facts  of  life  with  the  emphasis  of  the  trades- 
man and  the  poet?  " 

Pursuant  upon  these  meditations,  he  procured  several 
sheets  of  the  very  largest  size  of  drawing-paper ;  and  laying 
forth  his  paints,  proceeded  to  compose  an  ensign  that  might 
attract  the  eye  and  at  the  same  time,  in  his  own  phrase, 
directly  address  the  imagination  of  the  passenger.  Some- 
thing taking  in  the  way  of  color,  a  good,  savory  choice  of 
words,  and  a  realistic  design  setting  forth  the  life  a  lodger 
might  expect  to  lead  within  the  walls  of  that  palace  of 
delight:  these,  he  perceived,  must  be  the  elements  of  his 
advertisement.  It  was  possible,  upon  the  one  hand,  to 
depict  the  sober  pleasures  of  domestic  life,  the  evening  fire, 
blonde-headed  urchins  and  the  hissing  urn ;  but  on  the  other, 
it  was  possible  (and  he  almost  felt  as  if  it  were  more  suited 
to  his  muse)  to  set  forth  the  charms  of  an  existence  some- 
what wider  in  its  range,  or,  boldly  say,  the  paradise  of  the 
Mohammedan.  So  long  did  the  artist  waver  between  these 
two  views,  that,  before  he  arrived  at  a  conclusion,  he  had 
finally  conceived  and  completed  both  designs.  With  the 
proverbially  tender  heart  of  the  parent,  he  found  himself 
unable  to  sacrifice  either  of  these  offsprings  of  his  art;  and 
decided  to  expose  them  on  alternate  days.  "  In  this  way," 
he  thought,  "  I  shall  address  myself  indifferently  to  all 
classes  of  the  world." 

The  tossing  of  a  penny  decided  the  only  remaining  point ; 
and  the  more  imaginative  canvas  received  the  suffrages  of 

422 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

fortune  and  appeared  first  In  the  window  of  the  mansion. 
It  was  of  a  high  fancy,  the  legend  eloquently  writ,  the 
scheme  of  color  taking  and  bold ;  and  but  for  the  imperfec- 
tion of  the  artist's  drawing,  it  might  have  been  taken  for  a 
model  of  its  kind.  As  it  was,  however,  when  viewed  from 
his  favorite  point  against  the  garden  railings,  and  with 
some  touch  of  distance.  It  caused  a  pleasurable  rising  of  the 
artist's  heart.  "  I  have  thrown  away,"  he  ejaculated,  "  an 
invaluable  motive;  and  this  shall  be  the  subject  of  my  first 
academy  picture." 

The  fate  of  neither  of  these  works  was  equal  to  Its  merit. 
A  crowd  would  certainly,  from  time  to  time,  collect  before 
the  area-ralllngs ;  but  they  came  to  jeer  and  to  speculate; 
and  those  who  pushed  their  inquiries  further,  were  too 
plainly  animated  by  the  spirit  of  derision.  The  racier  of 
the  two  cartoons  displayed.  Indeed,  no  symptom  of  attract- 
ive merit;  and  though  It  had  a  certain  share  of  that  suc- 
cess called  scandalous,  failed  utterly  of  Its  effect.  On  the 
day,  however,  of  the  second  appearance  of  the  companion 
work,  a  real  Inquirer  did  actually  present  himself  before  the 
eyes  of  Somerset. 

This  was  a  gentlemanly  man,  with  some  marks  of  recent 
merriment,  and  his  voice  under  Inadequate  control. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  he,  "  but  what  Is  the  meaning 
of  your  extraordinary  bill.''  " 

"  I  beg  yours,"  returned  Somerset  hotly.  "  Its  meaning 
Is  sufficiently  explicit."  And  being  now,  from  dire  experi- 
ence, fearful  of  ridicule,  he  was  preparing  to  close  the  door, 
when  the  gentleman  thrust  his  cane  Into  the  aperture. 

"  Not  so  fast,  I  beg  of  you,'"  said  he.  "  If  you  really  let 
apartments,  here  Is  a  possible  tenant  at  your  door;  and 
nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure  than  to  see  the 
accommodation  and  to  learn  your  terms." 

His  heart  joyously  beating,  Somerset  admitted  the 
visitor,  showed  him  over  the  various  apartments,  and  with 
some  return  of  his  persuasive  eloquence,  expounded  their 
attractions.  The  gentleman  was  particularly  pleased  by 
the  elegant  proportions  of  the  drawing-room. 

423 


THE  DYNAMITER 

"  This,"  he  said,  "  would  suit  me  very  well.  What,  may 
I  ask,  would  be  your  terms  a  week  for  this  floor  and  the  one 
above  it?  " 

"  I  was  thinking,"  returned  Somerset,  "  of  a  hundred 
pounds." 

"  Surely  not,"  exclaimed  the  gentleman. 

"  Well,  then,"  returned  Somerset,  "  fifty." 

The  gentleman  regarded  him  with  an  air  of  some  amaze- 
ment. "  You  seem  to  be  strangely  elastic  in  your  demands," 
said  he.  "  What  if  I  were  to  proceed  on  your  own  principle 
of  division,  and  offer  you  twenty -five.?  " 

"  Done !  "  cried  Somerset ;  and  then,  overcome  by  a  sud- 
den embarrassment,  "  You  see,"  he  added,  apologetically, 
*'  it  is  all  found  money  for  me." 

"  Really,"  said  the  stranger,  looking  at  him  all  the  while 
with  growing  wonder.     "  Without  extras,  then  ?  " 

"  I — I  suppose  so,"  stammered  the  keeper  of  the  lodging- 
house. 

"Service  included?"  pursued  the  gentleman. 

"Service?"  cried  Somerset.  "Do  you  mean  that  you 
expect  me  to  empty  your  slops?  " 

The  gentleman  regarded  him  with  a  very  friendly  in- 
terest. "  My  dear  fellow,"  said  he,  "  if  you  take  my  advice, 
you  will  give  up  this  business."  And  thereupon  he  resumed 
his  hat  and  took  himself  away. 

This  smarting  disappointment  produced  a  strong  effect 
on  the  artist  of  the  cartoons ;  and  he  began  with  shame  to 
eat  up  his  rosier  illusions.  First  one  and  then  the  other  of 
his  great  works  was  condemned,  withdrawn  from  exhibition, 
and  relegated,  as  a  mere  wall-picture,  to  the  decoration  of 
the  dining-room.  Their  place  was  taken  by  a  replica  of  the 
original  wafered  announcement,  to  which,  in  particularly 
large  letters,  he  had  added  the  pithy  rubric :  "  No  service." 
Meanwhile  he  had  fallen  into  something  as  nearly  bordering 
on  low  spirits  as  was  consistent  with  his  disposition;  de- 
pressed, at  once  by  the  failure  of  his  scheme,  the  laughable 
turn  of  his  late  interview,  and  the  judicial  blindness  of  the 
public  to  the  merit  of  the  twin  cartoons. 

424 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS   MANSION 

Perhaps  a  week  had  passed  before  he  was  again  startled 
by  the  note  of  the  knocker.  A  gentleman  of  a  somewhat 
foreign  and  somewhat  mihtary  air,  yet  closely  shaven  and 
wearing  a  soft  hat,  desired  in  the  politest  terms  to  visit  the 
apartments.  He  had  (he  explained)  a  friend,  a  gentleman 
in  tender  health,  desirous  of  a  sedate  and  solitary  life,  apart 
from  interruption  and  the  noises  of  the  common  lodging- 
house.  The  unusual  clause,"  he  continued,  "  in  your  an« 
nouncement,  particularly  struck  me.  '  This,'  I  said,  *  is 
the  place  for  Mr.  Jones.'  You  are  yourself,  sir,  a  profes- 
sional gentleman  ?  "  concluded  the  visitor,  looking  keenly  in 
Somerset's  face. 

"  I  am  an  artist,"  replied  the  young  man  lightly 

"  And  these,"  observed  the  other,  taking  a  side  glance 
through  the  open  door  of  the  dining-room,  which  they  were 
then  passing,  "  these  are  some  of  your  works.  Very  re- 
markable." And  he  again  and  still  more  sharply  peered 
into  the  countenance  of  the  young  man. 

Somerset,  unable  to  suppress  a  blush,  made  the  more 
haste  to  lead  his  visitor  up  stairs  and  to  display  the  apart- 
ments. 

*'  Excellent,"  observed  the  stranger,  as  he  looked  from 
one  of  the  back  windows.  "Is  that  a  mews  behind,  sir? 
Very  good.  Well,  sir,  see  here.  My  friend  will  take  your 
drawing-room  floor;  he  will  sleep  in  the  back  drawing-room; 
his  nurse,  an  excellent  Irish  widow,  will  attend  on  all  his 
wants  and  occupy  a  garret;  he  will  pay  you  the  round  sum 
of  ten  dollars  a  week ;  and  you,  on  your  part,  will  engage  to 
receive  no  other  lodger.'*     I  think  that  fair." 

Somerset  had  scarcely  words  in  which  to  clothe  his  grati-' 
tude  and  joy. 

"  Agreed,"  said  the  other ;  "  and  to  spare  you  trou- 
ble, my  friend  will  bring  some  men  with  him  to  make 
the  changes.  You  will  find  him  a  retiring  inmate,  sir; 
receives  but  few,  and  rarely  leaves  the  house  except  at 
night." 

"  Since  I  have  been  in  this  house,"  returned  Somerset,  "  I 
have  myself,  unless  it  were  to  fetch  beer,  rarely  gone  abroad 

425 


THE  DYNAMITER 

except  in  the  evening.  But  a  man,"  he  added,  "  must  have 
some  amusement." 

An  hour  was  then  agreed  on ;  the  gentleman  departed ; 
and  Somerset  sat  down  to  compute  in  Enghsh  money  the 
value  of  the  figure  named.  The  result  of  this  investigation 
filled  him  with  amazement  and  disgust ;  but  it  was  now  too 
late;  nothing  remained  but  to  endure;  and  he  awaited  the 
arrival  of  his  tenant,  still  trying,  by  various  arithmetical 
expedients,  to  obtain  a  more  favorable  quotation  for  the 
dollar.  With  the  approach  of  dusk,  however,  his  impatience 
drove  him  once  more  to  the  front  balcony.  The  night  fell, 
mild  and  airless;  the  lamps  shone  around  the  central  dark- 
ness of  the  garden ;  and  through  the  tall  grove  of  trees  that 
intervened,  many  warmly  illuminated  windows  on  the  further 
side  of  the  square  told  their  tale  of  white  napery,  choice 
wine,  and  genial  hospitality.  The  stars  were  already  thick- 
ening overhead,  when  the  young  man's  eyes  ahghted  on  a 
procession  of  three  four-wheelers,  coasting  round  the  gar- 
den railing  and  bound  for  the  Superfluous  Mansion.  They 
were  laden  with  formidable  boxes ;  moving  in  a  military 
order,  one  following  another ;  and,  by  th^  extreme  slowness 
of  their  advance,  inspired  Somerset  with  the  most  serious 
ideas  of  his  tenant's  malady. 

By  the  time  he  had  the  door  open,  the  cabs  had  drawn  up 
beside  the  pavement;  and  from  the  two  first,  there  had 
alighted  the  military  gentleman  of  the  morning  and  two 
very  stalwart  porters.  These  proceeded  instantly  to  take 
possession  of  the  house;  with  their  own  hands,  and  firmly 
rejecting  Somerset's  assistance,  they  carried  in  the  various 
crates  and  boxes;  with  their  own  hands  dismounted  and 
transferred  to  the  back  drawing-room  the  bed  in  which  the 
tenant  was  to  sleep ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  bustle  of  arrival 
had  subsided,  and  the  arrangements  were  complete,  that 
there  descended,  from  the  third  of  the  three  vehicles,  a  gen- 
tleman of  great  stature  and  broad  shoulders,  leaning  on  the 
shoulder  of  a  woman  in  a  widow's  dress,  and  himself  covered 
by  a  long  cloak  and  muffled  in  a  colored  comforter. 

Somerset  had  but  a  glimpse  of  him  in  passing;  he  was 

426 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS   MANSION 

soon  shut  into  the  back  drawing-room ;  the  other  men  de- 
parted ;  silence  redescended  on  the  house ;  and  had  not  the 
nurse  appeared  a  little  before  half-past  ten,  and,  with  a 
strong  brogue,  asked  if  there  were  a  decent  public-house  in 
the  neighborhood,  Somerset  might  have  still  supposed  him- 
self to  be  alone  in  the  Superfluous  Mansion. 

Day  followed  day:  and  still  the  young  man  had  never 
come  by  speech  or  sight  of  his  mysterious  lodger.  The 
doors  of  the  drawing-room  flat  were  never  open ;  and 
although  Somerset  could  hear  him  moving  to  and  fro,  the 
tall  man  never  quitted  the  privacy  of  his  apartments. 
Visitors,  indeed,  arrived;  sometimes  in  the  dusk,  sometimes 
at  intempestuous  hours  of  night  or  morning;  men,  for  the 
most  part ;  some  meanly  attired,  some  decently ;  some  loud, 
some  cringing;  and  yet  all,  in  the  eyes  of  Somerset,  dis- 
pleasing. A  certain  air  of  fear  and  secrecy  was  common  to 
them  all ;  they  were  all  voluble,  he  thought,  and  ill  at  ease ; 
even  the  military  gentleman  proved,  on  a  closer  inspection, 
to  be  no  gentleman  at  all;  and  as  for  the  doctor  who  at- 
tended the  sick  man,  his  manners  were  not  suggestive  of  a 
university  career.  The  nurse,  again,  was  scarcely  a  desir- 
able house-fellow.  Since  her  arrival,  the  fall  of  whisky  in 
the  young  man's  private  bottle  was  much  accelerated;  and 
though  never  communicative,  she  was  at  times  unpleasantly 
familiar.  When  asked  about  the  patient's  health,  she  would 
dolorously  shake  her  head,  and  declare  that  the  poor  gen- 
tleman was  in  a  pitiful  condition. 

Yet  somehow  Somerset  had  early  begun  to  entertain  the 
notion  that  his  complaint  was  other  than  bodily.  The  ill- 
looking  birds  that  gathered  to  the  house,  the  strange  noises 
that  sounded  from  the  drawing-room  in  the  dead  hours  of 
night,  the  careless  attendance  and  intemperate  habits  of 
the  nurse,  the  entire  absence  of  correspondence,  the  entire 
seclusion  of  Mr.  Jones  himself,  whose  face,  up  to  that  hour, 
he  could  not  have  sworn  to  in  a  court  of  justice — all  weighed 
unpleasantly  upon  the  young  man's  mind.  A  sense  of  some- 
thing evil,  irregular  and  underhand,  haunted  and  depressed 
him;  and  this  uneasy  sentiment  was  the  more  firmly  rooted 

427 


THE   DYNAMITER 

in  his  mind,  when,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  the  features  of  his  tenant.  It  fell  in 
this  way.  The  young  landlord  was  awakened  about  four  in 
the  morning  by  a  noise  in  the  hall.  Leaping  to  his  feet, 
and  opening  the  door  of  the  Hbrary,  he  saw  the  tall  man, 
candle  in  hand,  in  earnest  conversation  with  the  gentleman 
who  had  taken  the  rooms.  The  faces  of  both  were  strongly 
illuminated;  and  in  that  of  his  tenant  Somerset  could  per- 
ceive none  of  the  marks  of  disease,  but  every  sign  of  health, 
energy  and  resolution.  While  he  was  still  looking,  the 
visitor  took  his  departure;  and  the  invalid,  having  carefully 
fastened  the  front  door,  sprang  up  stairs  without  a  trace  of 
lassitude. 

That  night  upon  his  pillow,  Somerset  began  to  kindle 
once  more  into  the  hot  fit  of  the  detective  fever ;  and  the 
next  morning  resumed  the  practice  of  his  art  with  careless 
hand  and  an  abstracted  mind.  The  day  was  destined  to  be 
fertile  in  surprises ;  nor  had  he  long  been  seated  at  the  easel 
ere  the  first  of  these  occurred.  A  cab  laden  with  baggage 
drew  up  before  the  door;  and  Mrs.  Luxmore  in  person  rap- 
idly mounted  the  steps  and  began  to  pound  upon  the  knocker. 
Somerset  hastened  to  attend  the  summons. 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  she  said,  with  the  utmost  gayety, 
*'  here  I  come  dropping  from  the  moon.  I  am  delighted  to 
find  you  faithful;  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  be  equally 
pleased  to  be  restored  to  Hberty." 

Somerset  could  find  no  words,  whether  of  protest  or  wel- 
come; and  the  spirited  old  lady  pushed  briskly  by  him  and 
paused  on  the  threshold  of  the  dining-room.  The  sight  that 
met  her  eyes  was  one  well  calculated  to  inspire  astonishment. 
The  mantel-piece  was  arrayed  with  sauce-pans  and  empty 
bottles ;  on  the  fire  some  chops  were  frying ;  the  floor  was 
littered  from  end  to  end  with  books,  clothes,  walking-canes 
and  the  materials  of  the  painter's  craft;  but  what  far  out- 
stripped the  other  wonders  of  the  place  was  the  corner  which 
had  been  arranged  for  the  study  of  still-hfe.  This  formed 
a  sort  of  rockery ;  conspicuous  upon  which,  according  to  the 
principles  of  the  art  of  composition,  a  cabbage  was  relieved 

428 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

against  a  copper  kettle,  and  both  contrasted  with  the  mail 
of  a  boiled  lobster. 

"  My  gracious  goodness !  "  cried  the  lady  of  the  house ; 
and  then,  turning  in  wrath  on  the  young  man,  "  From  what 
rank  in  life  are  you  sprung?"  she  demanded.  "You  have 
the  exterior  of  a  gentleman ;  but  from  the  astonishing  evi- 
dences before  me,  I  should  say  you  can  only  be  a  green- 
grocer's man.  Pray,  gather  up  your  vegetables,  and  let  me 
see  no  more  of  you." 

"  Madam,"  babbled  Somerset,  "  you  promised  me  a 
month's  warning." 

"  That  was  under  a  misapprehension,"  returned  the  old 
lady,  "  I  now  give  you  warning  to  leave  at  once." 

"Madam,"  said  the  young  man,  "I  wish  I  could;  and 
indeed,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  it  might  be  done.  But 
then,  my  lodger !  " 

"Your  lodger  .f^ "  echoed  Mrs.  Luxmore. 

"My  lodger;  why  should  I  deny  it.f*  "  returned  Somerset. 
"  He  is  only  here  by  the  week." 

The  old  lady  sat  down  upon  a  chair.  "  You  have  a 
lodger.? — you.'^  "  she  cried.  "  And  pray,  how  did  you  get 
him.?" 

"  By  advertisement,"  replied  the  young  man.  "  Oh, 
madam,  I  have  not  lived  unobservantly.  I  adopted  " — his 
eyes  involuntarily  shifted  to  the  cartoons — "  I  adopted 
every  method." 

Her  eyes  had  followed  his ;  for  the  first  time  in  Somerset's 
experience,  she  produced  a  double  eyeglass ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  full  merit  of  the  works  flashed  upon  her,  she  gave  way 
to  peal  after  peal  of  her  trilling  and  soprano  laughter. 

"  Oh,  I  think  you  are  perfectly  delicious !  "  she  cried.  "  I 
do  hope  you  had  them  in  the  window.  M'Pherson,"  she 
continued,  crying  to  her  maid,  who  had  been  all  this  time 
grimly  waiting  in  the  hall,  "  I  lunch  with  Mr.  Somerset. 
Take  the  cellar  key  and  bring  some  wine." 

In  this  gay  humor,  she  continued  throughout  the 
luncheon;  presented  Somerset  with  a  couple  of  dozen  of 
wine,  which  she  made  INI'Pherson  bring  up  from  the  cellar — • 

429 


THE   DYNAMITER 

^'  as  a  present,  my  dear,"  she  said,  with  another  burst  of 
tearful  merriment,  "  for  your  charming  pictures,  which  you 
must  be  sure  to  leave  me  when  you  go  " ;  and  finally,  pro- 
testing that  she  dared  not  spoil  the  absurdest  houseful  of 
madmen  in  the  whole  of  London,  departed  (as  she  vaguely 
phrased  it)  for  the  continent  of  Europe. 

She  was  no  sooner  gone,  than  Somerset  encountered  in  the 
corridor  the  Irish  nurse ;  sober,  to  all  appearance,  and  yet 
a  prey  to  singularly  strong  emotion.  It  was  made  to  ap- 
pear, from  her  account,  that  Mr.  Jones  had  already  suffered 
acutely  in  his  health  from  Mrs.  Luxmore's  visit,  and  that 
nothing  short  of  a  full  explanation  could  allay  the  invalid's 
uneasiness.  Somerset,  somewhat  staring,  told  what  he 
thought  fit  of  the  affair. 

"Is  that  all.'*"  cried  the  woman.  "As  God  sees  you,  is 
that  all.?  " 

"  My  good  woman,"  said  the  young  man,  "  I  have  no 
idea  what  you  can  be  driving  at.  Suppose  the  lady  were 
my  friend's  wife,  suppose  she  were  my  fairy  godmother, 
suppose  she  were  the  Queen  of  Portugal;  and  how  should 
that  affect  yourself  or  Mr.  Jones  ?  " 

f  "  Blessed  Mary !  "  cried  the  nurse,  "  it's  he  that  will  be 
glad  to  hear  it !  " 

And  immediately  she  fled  up  stairs. 

Somerset,  on  his  part,  returned  to  the  dining-room,  and 
with  a  very  thoughtful  brow  and  ruminating  many  theories, 
disposed  of  the  remainder  of  the  bottle.  It  was  port ;  and 
port  is  a  wine,  sole  among  its  equals  and  superiors,  that  can 
in  some  degree  support  the  competition  of  tobacco.  Sip- 
ping, smoking,  and  theorizing,  Somerset  moved  on  from  sus- 
picion to  suspicion,  from  resolve  to  resolve,  still  growing 
braver  and  rosier  as  the  bottle  ebbed.  He  was  a  skeptic, 
none  prouder  of  the  name;  he  had  no  horror  at  command, 
whether  for  crimes  or  vices,  but  beheld  and  embraced  the 
world,  with  an  immoral  approbation,  the  frequent  conse- 
quence of  youth  and  health.  At  the  same  time  he  felt 
convinced  that  he  dwelt  under  the  same  roof  with  secret 
malefactors ;  and  the  unregenerate  instinct  of  the  chase  im- 

430 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

pelled  him  to  severity.  The  bottle  had  run  low ;  the  summer 
sun  had  finally  withdrawn ;  and  at  the  same  moment,  night 
and  the  pangs  of  hunger  recalled  him  from  his  dreams. 

He  went  forth,  and  dined  in  the  Criterion:  a  dinner  in 
consonance,  not  so  much  with  his  purse,  as  with  the  ad- 
mirable wine  he  had  discussed.  What  with  one  thing  and 
another,  it  was  long  past  midnight  when  he  returned  home. 
A  cab  was  at  the  door;  and  entering  the  hall,  Somerset 
found  himself  face  to  face  with  one  of  the  most  regular  of 
the  few  who  visited  Mr.  Jones:  a  man  of  powerful  figure, 
strong  lineaments,  and  a  chin-beard  in  the  American  fashion. 
This  person  was  carrying  on  one  shoulder  a  black  port- 
manteau, seemingly  of  considerable  weight.  That  he  should 
find  a  visitor  removing  baggage  In  the  dead  of  night,  recalled 
some  odd  stories  to  the  young  man's  memory ;  he  had  heard 
of  lodgers  who  thus  gradually  drained  away,  not  only  their 
own  effects,  but  the  very  furniture  and  fittings  of  the  house 
that  sheltered  them ;  and  now,  in  a  mood  between  pleasantry 
and  suspicion,  and  aping  the  manner  of  a  drunkard,  he 
roughly  bumped  against  the  man  with  the  chin-beard  and 
knocked  the  portmanteau  from  his  shoulder  to  the  floor. 
With  a  face  struck  suddenly  as  white  as  paper,  the  man  with 
the  chin-beard  called  lamentably  on  the  name  of  his  maker, 
and  fell  In  a  mere  heap  on  the  mat  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 
At  the  same  time,  though  only  for  a  single  Instant,  the  heads 
of  the  sick  lodger  and  the  Irish  nurse  popped  out  like  rab- 
bits over  the  banisters  of  the  first  floor ;  and  on  both  the 
same  scare  and  pallor  were  apparent. 

The  sight  of  this  incredible  emotion  turned  Somerset  to 
stone,  and  he  continued  speechless,  while  the  man  gathered 
himself  together,  and  with  the  help  of  the  handrail  and 
audibly  thanking  God,  scrambled  once  more  upon  his 
feet. 

"What  In  Heaven's  name  ails  you.'^  "  gasped  the  young 
man  as  soon  as  he  could  find  words  and  utterance. 

"  Have  you  a  drop  of  brandy.''  "  returned  the  other.  "  I 
am  sick." 

Somerset  administered  two  drams,  one  after  the  other, 

431 


THE  DYNAMITER 

to  the  man  with  the  chin-beard;  who  then,  somewhat  re- 
stored, began  to  confound  himself  in  apologies  for  what  he 
called  his  miserable  nervousness,  the  result,  he  said,  of  a  long 
course  of  dumb  ague;  and  having  taken  leave  with  a  hand 
that  still  sweated  and  trembled,  he  gingerly  resumed  his 
burden  and  departed. 

Somerset  retired  to  bed  but  not  to  sleep.  What,  he  asked 
himself,  had  been  the  contents  of  the  black  portmanteau? 
Stolen  goods.''  the  carcase  of  one  murdered.''  or — and  at  the 
thought  he  sat  upright  in  bed — an  infernal  machine?  He 
took  a  solemn  vow  that  he  would  set  these  doubts  at  rest; 
and  with  the  next  morning,  installed  himself  beside  the 
dining-room  window,  vigilant  with  eye  and  ear,  to  await  and 
profit  by  the  earliest  opportunity. 

The  hours  went  heavily  by.  Within  the  house  there  was 
no  circumstance  of  novelty ;  unless  it  might  be  that  the  nurse 
more  frequently  made  little  journeys  round  the  corner  of 
the  square,  and  before  afternoon  was  somewhat  loose  of 
speech  and  gait.  A  little  after  six,  however,  there  came 
round  the  corner  of  the  gardens  a  very  handsome  and  ele- 
gantly dressed  young  woman,  who  paused  a  little  way  off, 
and  for  some  time,  and  with  frequent  sighs,  contemplated 
the  front  of  the  Superfluous  Mansion.  It  was  not  the  first 
time  that  she  had  thus  stood  afar  and  looked  upon  it,  like 
our  common  parents  at  the  gates  of  Eden ;  and  the  young 
man  had  already  had  occasion  to  remark  the  lively  sHmness 
of  her  carriage,  and  had  already  been  the  butt  of  a  chance 
arrow  from  her  eye.  He  hailed  her  coming,  .then,  with 
pleasant  feelings,  and  moved  a  httle  nearer  tp  the  window  to 
enjoy  the  sight.  What  was  his  surprise,  however,  when,  as 
if  with  a  sensible  effort,  she  drew  near,  mounted  the  steps 
and  tapped  discreetly  at  the  door !  He  made  haste  to  get 
before  the  Irish  nurse,  who  was  not  improbably  asleep,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  to  receive  this  gracious  visitor  in 
person. 

She  inquired  for  Mr.  Jones ;  and  then,  without  transition, 
asked  the  young  man  if  he  were  the  person  of  the  house  (and 
at  the  words,  he  thought  he  could  perceive  her  to  be  smil- 

433 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

ing) ,  "  because,"  she  added,  "  if  jou  are,  I  should  like  to 
see  some  of  the  other  rooms," 

Somerset  told  her  he  was  under  an  engagement  to  receive 
no  lodgers ;  but  she  assured  him  that  would  be  no  matter, 
as  these  were  friends  of  Mr.  Jones's.  "  And,"  she  con- 
tinued, moving  suddenly  to  the  dining-room  door,  "  let  us 
begin  here."  Somerset  was  too  late  to  prevent  her  entering, 
and  perhaps  he  lacked  the  courage  to  essay.  "  Ah ! "  she 
cried,  "  how  changed  it  is !  " 

"  INIadam,"  cried  the  young  man,  "  since  your  entrance, 
it  is  I  who  have  the  right  to  say  so." 

She  received  this  inane  compliment  with  a  demure  and 
conscious  droop  of  the  eyelids,  and  gracefully  steering  her 
dress  among  the  mingled  litter,  now  with  a  smile,  now  with 
a  sigh,  reviewed  the  wonders  of  the  two  apartments.  She 
gazed  upon  the  cartoons  with  sparkling  eyes,  and  a  height- 
ened color,  and  in  a  somewhat  breathless  voice  expressed  a 
high  opinion  of  their  merits.  She  praised  the  effective  dis- 
position of  the  rockery,  and  in  the  bedroom,  of  which 
Somerset  had  vainly  endeavored  to  defend  the  entry,  she 
fairly  broke  forth  in  admiration.  *'  Plow  simple  and 
manly !  "  she  cried :  "  none  of  that  cfFeminac}'-  of  neatness, 
which  is  so  detestable  in  a  man !  "  Hard  upon  this,  telling 
him,  before  he  had  time  to  reply,  that  she  very  well  knew 
her  way,  and  would  trouble  him  no  further,  she  took  her 
leave  with  an  engaging  smile,  and  ascended  the  staircase 
alone. 

For  more  than  an  hour,  the  young  lady  remained  closeted 
with  INIr.  Jones ;  and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  the  night  being 
now  come  completely,  they  left  the  house  in  company.  This 
was  the  first  time  since  the  arrival  of  his  lodger,  that 
Somerset  had  found  himself  alone  with  the  Irish  widow; 
and  without  the  loss  of  any  more  time  than  was  required  by 
decency,  he  stepped  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs  and  hailed  her 
by  her  name.  She  came  instantly,  wreathed  in  weak  smiles 
and  with  a  nodding  head;  and  when  the  young  man  politely 
offered  to  introduce  her  to  the  treasures  of  his  art,  she  swore 
that  nothing  could  afford  her  greater  pleasure,  for,  though 

433 


THE   DYNAMITER 

she  had  never  crossed  the  threshold,  she  had  frequently  ob- 
served his  beautiful  pictures  through  the  door.  On  entering 
the  dining-room,  the  sight  of  a  bottle  and  two  glasses  pre- 
pared her  to  be  a  gentle  critic;  and  as  soon  as  the  pictures 
had  been  viewed  and  praised,  she  was  easily  persuaded  to 
join  the  painter  in  a  single  glass.  "  Here,"  she  said,  "  are 
my  respects ;  and  a  pleasure  it  is,  in  this  horrible  house,  to 
see  a  gentleman  like  yourself,  so  affable  and  free,  and  a  very 
nice  painter,  I  am  sure."  One  glass  so  agreeably  prefaced, 
was  sure  to  lead  to  the  acceptance  of  a  second ;  at  the  third, 
Somerset  was  free  to  cease  from  the  affectation  of  keeping 
her  company ;  and  as  for  the  fourth,  she  asked  it  of  her 
own  accord.  "  For  indeed,"  said  she,  "  what  with  all  these 
clocks  and  chemicals,  without  a  drop  of  the  creature  hfe 
would  be  impossible  entirely.  And  you  seen  yourself  that 
even  M'Guire  was  glad  to  beg  for  it.  And  even  liimself, 
when  he  is  downhearted  with  all  these  cruel  disappointments, 
though  as  temperate  a  man  as  any  child,  will  be  sometimes 
crying  for  a  glass  of  it.  And  I'll  thank  you  for  a  thimble- 
ful to  settle  what  I  got."  Soon  after,  she  began  with  tears 
to  narrate  the  deathbed  dispositions  and  lament  the  trifling 
assets  of  her  husband.  Then  she  declared  she  heard  "  the 
master  "  calling  her,  rose  to  her  feet,  made  but  one  lurch 
of  it  into  the  still-hfe  rockery,  and  with  her  head  upon  the 
lobster,  fell  into  stertorous  slumbers. 

Somerset  mounted  at  once  to  the  first  story,  and  opened 
the  door  of  the  drawing-room,  which  was  brilhantly  hghted 
by  several  lamps.  It  was  a  great  apartment ;  looking  on 
the  square  with  three  tall  windows,  and  joined  by  a  pair 
of  ample  folding-doors  to  the  next  room;  elegant  in  propor- 
tion, papered  in  sea-green,  furnished  in  velvet  of  a  dehcate 
blue,  and  adorned  with  a  majestic  mantel-piece  of  variously 
tinted  marbles.  Such  was  the  room  that  Somerset  remem- 
bered; that  which  he  now  beheld  was  changed  in  almost 
every  feature :  the  furniture  covered  with  a  figured  chintz ; 
the  walls  hung  with  a  rhubarb  colored  paper,  and  diversified 
by  the  curtained  recesses  for  no  less  than  seven  windows. 
It  seemed  to  himself  that  he  must  have  entered,  without  ob- 

434 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MAXSIOX 

serving  the  transition,  into  the  adjoining  house.  Presently 
from  these  more  specious  changes,  his  eye  condescended  to 
the  many  curious  objects  with  which  the  floor  was  httered. 
Here  were  the  locks  of  dismounted  pistols ;  clocks  and  clock- 
work in  every  stage  of  demolition,  some  still  busily  ticking, 
some  reduced  to  their  dainty  elements ;  a  great  company  of 
carboys,  jars  and  bottles,  a  carpenter's  bench  and  a  labor- 
atory-table. 

The  back  drawing-room,  to  which  Somerset  proceeded, 
had  likewise  undergone  a  change.  It  was  transformed  to 
the  exact  appearance  of  a  common  lodging-house  bedroom ; 
a  bed  with  green  curtains  occupied  one  corner ;  and  the 
window  was  blocked  by  the  regulation  table  and  mirror. 
The  door  of  a  small  closet  here  attracted  the  young  man's 
attention ;  and  striking  a  vesta,  he  opened  it  and  entered. 
On  a  table  several  wigs  and  beards  were  lying  spread ;  about 
the  walls  hung  an  incongruous  display  of  suits  and  over- 
coats ;  and  conspicuous  among  the  last  the  young  man  ob- 
served a  large  over-all  of  the  most  costly  sealskin.  In  a 
flash  his  mind  reverted  to  the  advertisement  in  the  Standard 
newspaper.  The  great  height  of  his  lodger,  the  dispropor- 
tionate breadth  of  his  shoulders,  and  the  strange  particulars 
of  his  installment,  all  pointed  to  the  same  conclusion. 

The  vesta  had  now  burned  to  his  fingers ;  and  taking 
the  coat  upon  his  arm,  Somerset  hastily  returned  to  the 
lighted  drawing-room.  There,  with  a  mixture  of  fear  and 
admiration,  he  pored  upon  its  goodly  proportions  and  the 
regularity  and  softness  of  the  pile.  The  sight  of  a  large 
pier-glass  put  another  fancy  in  his  head.  He  donned  the 
fur-coat;  and  standing  before  the  mirror  in  an  attitude 
suggestive  of  a  Russian  prince,  he  thrust  liis  hands  into  the 
ample  pockets.  There  his  fingers  encountered  a  folded 
journal.  He  drew  it  out,  and  recognized  the  type  and  paper 
of  the  Standard;  and  at  the  same  instant,  his  eyes  alighted 
on  the  offer  of  two  hundred  pounds.  Plainly  then,  his 
lodger,  now  no  longer  mysterious,  had  laid  aside  his  coat 
on  the  very  day  of  the  appearance  of  the  advertisement. 

He  was  thus  standing,  the  tell-tale  coat  upon  his  back, 

4:25 


THE  DYNAMITER 

the  incrlmmating  paper  in  his  hand,  when  the  door  opened 
and  the  tall  lodger,  with  a  firm  but  somewhat  pallid  face, 
stepped  into  the  room  and  closed  the  door  behind  ^im.  For 
some  time,  the  two  looked  upon  each  other  in  perfect  silence ; 
then  Mr.  Jones  moved  forward  to  the  table,  took  a  seat,  and, 
still  without  once  changing  the  direction  of  his  eyes,  ad- 
dressed the  young  man. 

"  You  are  right,"  he  said.  *'  It  is  for  me  the  blood- 
money  is  offered.     "  And  now  what  will  you  do  ?  " 

It  was  a  question  to  which  Somerset  was  far  from  being 
able  to  reply.  Taken  as  he  was  at  unawares,  masquerad- 
ing in  the  man's  own  coat,  and  surrounded  by  a  whole 
arsenal  of  diabolical  explosives,  the  keeper  of  the  lodging- 
house  was  silenced. 

"  Yes,"  resumed  the  other,  "  I  am  he.  I  am  that  man, 
whom  with  impotent  hate  and  fear,  they  still  hunt  from  den 
to  den,  from  disguise  to  disguise.  Yes,  my  landlord,  you 
have  it  in  your  power,  if  you  be  poor,  to  lay  the  basis  of 
your  fortune;  if  you  be  unknowTi,  to  capture  honor  at  one 
snatch.  You  have  hocussed  an  innocent  widow;  and  I  find 
you  here  in  ray  apartment,  for  whose  use  I  pay  you  in 
stamped  money,  searching  my  wardrobe,  and  your  hand — 
shame,  sir ! — your  hand  in  my  very  pocket.  You  can  now 
complete  the  cycle  of  your  ignominious  acts,  by  what  will 
be  at  once  the  simplest,  the  safest  and  most  remunerative." 
The  speaker  paused  as  if  to  emphasize  his  words ;  and  then, 
with  a  great  change  of  tone  and  manner,  thus  resumed: 
"  And  yet,  sir,  when  I  look  upon  your  face,  I  feel  certain 
that  I  can  not  be  deceived:  certain  that  in  spite  of  all,  I 
have  the  honor  and  pleasure  of  speaking  to  a  gentleman. 
Take  off  my  coat,  sir — which  but  cumbers  you.  Divest 
yourself  of  this  confusion :  that  which  is  but  thought  upon, 
thank  God,  need  be  no  burden  to  the  conscience;  we  have  all 
harbored  guilty  thoughts ;  and  if  it  flashed  into  your  mind 
to  sell  my  flesh  and  blood,  my  anguish  in  the  dock,  and  the 
sweat  of  my  death  agony — it  was  a  thought,  dear  sir,  you 
were  as  incapable  of  acting  on,  as  I  of  any  further  question 
of  your  honor."     At  these  words,  the  speaker,  with  a  very 

436 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

open,  smiling  countenance,  like  a  forgiving  father,  offered 
Somerset  his  hand. 

It  was  not  in  the  young  man's  nature  to  refuse  forgive- 
ness or  dissect  generosity.  He  instantly,  and  almost  with- 
out thought,  accepted  the  proffered  grasp. 

"  And  now,"  resumed  the  lodger,  "  noAV  that  I  hold  in 
mine  your  loyal  hand,  I  lay  by  my  apprehensions,  I  dismiss 
suspicion,  I  go  further — by  an  effort  of  will,  I  banish  the 
memory  of  what  is  past.  How  you  came  here,  I  care  not: 
enough  that  you  are  here — as  my  guest.  Sit  ye  down ;  and 
let  us,  with  your  good  permission,  improve  acquaintance 
over  a  glass  of  excellent  whisky." 

So  speaking,  he  produced  glasses  and  a  bottle;  and  the 
pair  pledged  each  other  in  silence. 

"  Confess,"  observed  the  smiling  host,  "  you  were  sur- 
prised at  the  appearance  of  the  room." 

"  I  was  indeed,"  said  Somerset ;  "  nor  can  I  imagine  the 
purpose  of  these  changes." 

"  These,"  replied  the  conspirator,  "  are  the  devices  by 
which  I  continue  to  exist.  Conceive  me  now,  accused  before 
one  of  your  unjust  tribunals;  conceive  the  various  witnesses 
appearing,  and  the  singular  variety  of  their  reports !  One 
will  have  visited  me  in  this  drawing-room  as  it  originally 
stood ;  a  second  finds  it  as  it  is  to-night ;  and  to-morrow  or 
next  day,  all  may  have  been  changed.  If  you  love  romance 
(as  artists  do),  few  lives  are  more  romantic  than  that 
of  the  obscure  individual  now  addressing  you.  Obscure  yet 
famous.  Mine  is  an  anonymous,  infernal  glory.  By  in- 
famous means,  I  work  toward  my  bright  purpose.  I  found 
the  liberty  and  peace  of  a  poor  country  desperately  abused ; 
the  future  smiles  upon  that  land;  yet,  in  the  meantime,  I 
lead  the  existence  of  a  hunted  brute,  work  toward  appalling 
ends,  and  practice  hell's  dexterities." 

Somerset,  glass  in  hand,  contemplated  the  strange  fanatic 
before  him,  and  listened  to  his  heated  rhapsody  with  inde- 
scribable bewilderment.  He  looked  him  in  the  face  with 
curious  particularity ;  saw  there  the  marks  of  education ; 
and  wondered  the  more  profoundly. 

437 


THE   DYNAMITER 

*'  Sir,"  he  said — "  for  I  know  not  whether  I  should  still 
address  you  as  Mr.  Jones " 

"  Jones,  Breitman,  Higginbotham,  Pumpernickel,  Daviot, 
Henderland,  by  all  or  any  of  these  you  may  address  me," 
said  the  plotter ;  "  for  all  I  have  at  some  time  borne.  Yet 
that  which  I  most  price,  that  which  is  most  feared,  hated  and 
obeyed,  is  not  a  name  to  be  found  in  your  directories ;  it  is 
not  a  name  current  in  post-offices  or  banks ;  and  indeed,  like 
the  celebrated  clan  M'Gregor,  I  may  justly  describe  myself 
as  being  nameless  by  day.  But,"  he  continued,  rising  to  his 
feet,  "  by  night,  and  among  my  desperate  followers,  I  am 
the  redoubted  Zero." 

Somerset  was  unacquainted  with  the  name ;  but  he  politely 
expressed  surprise  and  gratification.  "  I  am  to  und.er- 
stand,"  he  continued,  "  that,  under  this  alias,  you  follow  the 
profession  of  a  dynamiter?  "  ^ 

The  plotter  had  resumed  his  seat  and  now  replenished  the 
glasses. 

"  I  do,"  he  said.  "  In  this  dark  period  of  time,  a  star — 
the  star  of  dynamite — ^has  risen  for  the  oppressed;  and 
among  those  who  practice  its  use,  so  thick  beset  with  dan- 
gers and  attended  by  such  incredible  difficulties  and  dis- 
appointments, few  have  been  more  assiduous,  and  not 
many "  He  paused,  and  a  shade  of  embarrassment  ap- 
peared upon  his  face — "  not  many  have  been  more  success- 
ful than  myself." 

"  I  can  imagine,"  observed  Somerset,  "  that,  from  the 
sweeping  consequences  looked  for,  the  career  is  not  devoid 
of  interest.  You  have,  besides,  some  of  the  entertainment 
of  the  game  of  hide  and  seek.  But  it  would  still  seem  to 
me — I  speak  as  a  layman — that  nothing  could  be  simpler  or 

1  The  Arabian  author  of  the  original  has  here  a  long  passage  con- 
ceived in  a  style  too  oriental  for  the  English  reader.  We  subjoin 
a  specimen,  and  it  seems  doubtful  whether  it  should  be  printed  as 
prose  or  verse:  "Any  writard  who  writes  dynamitard  shall  find  in 
me  a  never-resting  fightard";  and  he  goes  on  (if  we  correctly  gather 
his  meaning)  to  object  to  such  elegance  and  obviously  correct  spelling 
as  lamp-lightard,  corn-dealard,  apple-filchard  (clearly  justified  by  the 
parallel — pilchard)  and  opera  dancard.  "  Dynamitist,"  he  adds,  "  I 
could  understand." 

438 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

safer  than  to  deposit  an  infernal  machine  and  retire  to  an 
adjacent  county  to  await  the  painful  consequences." 

"  You  speak,  indeed,"  returned  the  plotter,  with  some 
evidence  of  warmth,  "  you  speak,  indeed,  most  ignorantly. 
Do  you  make  nothing,  then,  of  such  a  peril  as  we  share  this 
moment.  Do  you  think  it  nothing  to  occupy  a  house  like 
this  one,  mined,  menaced,  and,  in  a  word,  literally  tottering 
to  its  fall.?  " 

"Good  God!"  ejaculated  Somerset. 

"  And  when  you  speak  of  ease,"  pursued  Zero,  "  in  this 
age  of  scientific  studies,  you  fill  me  with  surprise.  Are  you 
not  aware  that  chemicals  are  proverbially  as  fickle  as  woman, 
and  clockwork  as  capricious  as  the  very  devil.''  Do  you  see 
on  my  brow  these  furrows  of  anxiety.''  do  you  observe  the 
silver  threads  that  mingle  with  my  hair,'*  Clockwork,  clock- 
work has  stamped  them  on  my  brow — chemicals  have 
sprinkled  them  upon  my  locks !  No,  Mr.  Somerset,"  he  re- 
sumed, after  a  moment's  pause,  his  voice  still  quivering  with 
sensibility,  "  you  must  not  suppose  the  dynamiter's  life  to 
be  all  gold.  On  the  contrary :  you  can  not  picture  to  your- 
self the  bloodshot  vigils  and  the  staggering  disappoint- 
ments of  a  life  like  mine.  I  have  toiled  (let  us  say)  for 
months,  up  early  and  down  late;  my  bag  is  ready,  my  clock 
set ;  a  daring  agent  has  hurried  with  white  face  to  deposit 
the  instrument  of  ruin ;  we  await  the  fall  of  England,  the 
massacre  of  thousands,  the  yell  of  fear  and  execration ;  and 
lo !  a  snap  like  that  of  a  child's  pistol,  an  offensive  smell, 
and  the  entire  loss  of  so  much  time  and  plant !  If,"  he  con- 
tinued, musingly,  "  we  had  been  merely  able  to  recover  the 
lost  bags,  I  believe  with  but  a  touch  or  two,  I  could  have 
remedied  the  peccant  engine.  But  what  with,  the  loss  of 
plant  and  the  almost  insuperable  scientific  difficulties  of  the 
task,  our  friends  in  France  are  almost  ready  to  desert  the 
chosen  medium.  They  propose,  instead,  to  break  up  the 
drainage  system  of  cities  and  sweep  off  whole  populations 
with  the  devastating  typhoid  pestilence:  a  tempting  and  a 
scientific  project:  a  process,  indiscriminate  indeed,  but  of 
idylical   simplicity.      I   recognize  its   elegance ;  but,   sir,   I 

439 


THE   DYNAMITER 

have  something  of  the  poet  in  my  nature;  something,  pos- 
sibly, of  the  tribune.  And,  for  my  small  part,  I  shall 
remain  devoted  to  that  more  emphatic,  more  striking,  and 
(if  you  please)  more  popular  method,  of  the  explosive  bomb. 
Yes,"  he  cried,  with  unshaken  hope,  "  I  will  still  continue, 
and  I  feel  it  in  my  bosom  I  shall  yet  succeed." 

"  Two  things  I  remark,"  said  Somerset.  "  The  first  some- 
what staggers  me.  Have  you,  then — in  all  this  course  of 
life,  which  you  have  sketched  so  vividly — have  you  not  once 
succeeded?  " 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  Zero.  "  I  have  had  one  success.  You 
behold  in  me  the  author  of  the  outrage  of  Red,  Lion  Court." 

"  But  if  I  remember  right,"  objected  Somerset,  "  the 
thing  was  a  fiasco.  A  scavenger's  barrow  and  some  copies 
of  the  '  Weekly  Budget ' — these  were  the  only  victims." 

"  You  will  pardon  me  again,"  returned  Zero  with  posi- 
tive asperity;  "  a  child  was  injured." 

"  And  that  fitly  brings  me  to  my  second  point,"  said 
Somerset.  "  For  I  observed  you  to  employ  the  word  *  in- 
discriminate.' Now,  surely,  a  scavenger's  barrow  and  a 
child  (if  child  there  was)  represent  the  very  acme  and  top 
pin-point  of  indiscriminate,  and,  pardon  me,  of  ineffectual 
reprisal." 

"Did  I  employ  the  word.?"  asked  Zero.  "Well,  I  will 
not  defend  it.  But  for  efficiency,  you  touch  on  graver  mat- 
ters; and  before  entering  upon  so  vast  a  subject,  permit  me 
once  more  to  fill  our  glasses.  Disputation  is  dry  work/' 
he  added,  with  a  charming  gayety  of  manner. 

Once  more  accordingly  the  pair  pledged  each  other  in  a 
stalwart  grog;  and  Zero,  leaning  back  with  an  air  of  some 
complacency,  proceeded  more  largely  to  develop  his  opin- 
ions. 

"  The  indiscriminate,"  he  began.  "  War,  my  dear  sir, 
is  indiscriminate.  War  spares  not  the  child;  it  spares  not 
the  barrow  of  the  harmless  scavenger.  No  more,"  he  con- 
cluded, beaming,  "  no  more  do  I.  Whatever  may  strike  fear, 
whatever  may  confound  or  paralyze  the  activities  of  the 
guilty  nation,  barrow  or  child,  imperial  Parliament  or  ex- 

440 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

cursion  steamer,  is  welcome  to  my  simple  plans.  You  are 
not,"  he  inquired,  with  a  shade  of  sympathetic  interest, 
"you  are  not,  I  trust,  a  believer?  " 

"  Sir,  I  believe  in  nothing,"  said  the  young  man. 

"  You  are  then,"  replied  Zero,  "  in  position  to  grasp  my 
argument.  We  agree  that  humanity  is  the  object,  the 
glorious  triumph  of  humanity ;  and  being  pledged  to  labor 
for  that  end,  and  face  to  face  with  the  banded  opposition 
of  kings,  parliaments,  churches,  and  the  members  of  the 
force,  who  am  I — who  are  we,  dear  sir — to  affect  a  nicety 
about  the  tools  employed.''  You  might  perhaps,  expect  us 
to  attack  the  Queen,  the  sinister  Gladstone,  the  rigid  Derby, 
or  the  dexterous  Granville ;  but  there  you  would  be  in  error. 
Our  appeal  is  to  the  body  of  the  people ;  it  is  these  that  we 
would  touch  and  interest.  Now,  sir,  have  you  observed  the 
English  housemaid.''  " 

"  I  should  think  I  had,"  cried  Somerset. 

"  From  a  man  of  taste  and  a  votary  of  art,  I  had  expected 
it,"  returned  the  conspirator  politely.  "  A  type  apart ;  a 
very  charming  figure ;  and  thoroughly  adapted  to  our  ends. 
The  neat  cap,  the  clean  print,  the  comely  person,  the  en- 
gaging manner;  her  position  between  classes,  parents  in 
one,  emplo^'^ers  in  another ;  the  probability  that  she  will  have 
at  least  one  sweetheart,  whose  feelings  we  shall  address: — • 
yes,  I  have  a  leaning — call  it,  if  you  will,  a  Aveakness — for 
the  housemaid.  Not  that  I  would  be  understood  to  despise 
the  nurse.  For  the  child  is  a  very  interesting  feature :  I 
have  long  since  marked  out  the  child  as  the  sensitive  point 
in  society."  He  wagged  his  head,  with  a  wise,  pensive  smile. 
"  And  talking,  sir,  of  children  and  of  the  perils  of  our 
trade,  let  me  now  narrate  to  you  a  little  incident  of  an 
explosive  bomb,  that  fell  out  some  weeks  ago  under  my  own 
observation.     It  fell  out  thus." 

And  Zero,  leaning  back  in  his  chair,  narrated  the  follow- 
ing simple  tale. 


441 


ZERO  S   TALE   OF   THE   EXPLOSIVE   BOMB  ' 

I  DINED  by  appointment  with  one  of  our  most  trusted 
agents,  in  a  private  chamber  at  St.  James's  Hall.  You 
have  seen  the  man:  it  was  M'Guire,  the  most  chivalrous  of 
creatures,  but  not  himself  expert  in  our  contrivances. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  our  meeting;  for  I  need  not  remind 
you  what  enormous  issues  depend  upon  the  nice  adjustment 
of  the  engine.  I  set  our  little  petard  for  half  an  hour,  the 
scene  of  action  being  hard  by;  and  the  better  to  avert 
miscarriage,  employed  a  device,  a  recent  invention  of  my 
own,  by  which  the  opening  of  the  Gladstone  bag  in  which 
the  bomb  was  carried,  should  instantly  determine  the  explo- 
sion. M'Guire  was  somewhat  dashed  by  this  arrangement, 
which  was  new  to  him ;  and  pointed  out,  with  excellent,  clear 
good  sense  that  should  he  be  arrested,  it  would  probably 
involve  him  in  the  fall  of  our  opponents.  But  I  was  not  to 
be  moved,  made  a  strong  appeal  to  his  patriotism,  gave  him 
a  good  glass  of  whisky,  and  dispatched  him  on  his  glorious 
errand. 

Our  objective  was  the  efBgy  of  Shakespeare  in  Leicester 
Square:  a  spot,  I  think,  admirably  chosen;  not  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  dramatist,  still  very  foolishly  claimed  as  a  glory 
by  the  English  race,  in  spite  of  his  disgusting  political 
opinions ;  but  from  the  fact  that  the  seats  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  are  often  thronged  by  children,  errand-boys, 
unfortunate  young  ladies  of  the  poorer  class  and  infirm  old 
men — all  classes  making  a  direct  appeal  to  public  pity,  and 
therefore  suitable  with  our  designs.  As  M'Guire  drew  near 
his  heart  was  inflamed  by  the  most  noble  sentiment  of  tri- 

1  The  Arabian  author,  with  that  quaint  particularity  of  touch  which 
our  translation  usually  preetermits,  here  registers  a  somewhat  inter- 
esting detail.  Zero  pronounced  the  word  "  boom " ;  and  the  reader,  if 
but  for  the  nonce,  wiU  possibly  consent  to  follow  him. 

M2i 


THE    EXPLOSIVE    BOMB 

umph.  Never  had  he  seen  the  garden  so  crowded;  children, 
still  stumbling  in  the  impotence  of  youth,  ran  to  and  fro, 
shouting  and  playing,  round  the  pedestal ;  an  old,  sick 
pensioner  sat  upon  the  nearest  bench,  a  medal  on  his  breast, 
a  stick  with  which  he  walked  (for  he  was  disabled  by  wounds) 
reclining  on  his  knee.  Guilty  England  would  thus  be 
stabbed  in  the  most  delicate  quarters;  the  moment  had,  in- 
deed, been  well  selected;  and  M'Guire,  with  a  radiant  previ- 
sion of  the  event,  drew  merrily  nearer.  Suddenly  his  eye 
alighted  on  the  burly  form  of  a  policeman,  standing  hard 
by  the  effigy  In  an  attitude  of  watch.  My  bold  companion 
paused ;  he  looked  about  him  closely ;  here  and  there,  at 
different  points  of  the  inclosure,  other  men  stood  or  loitered, 
affecting  an  abstraction,  feigning  to  gaze  upon  the  shrubs, 
feigning  to  talk,  feigning  to  be  weary  and  to  rest  upon  the 
benches.  M'Guire  was  no  child  In  these  affairs ;  he  Instantly 
divined  one  of  the  plots  of  the  Machiavellian  Gladstone. 

A  chief  difficulty  with  which  we  have  to  deal  is  a  certain 
nervousness  In  the  subaltern  branches  of  the  corps ;  as  the 
hour  of  some  design  draws  near,  these  chlcken-souled  con- 
spirators appear  to  suffer  some  revulsion  of  Intent:  and 
frequently  dispatch  to  the  authorities,  not  indeed  specific 
denunciations,  but  vague  anonymous  warnings.  But  for 
this  purely  accidental  circumstance,  England  had  long  ago 
been  an  historical  expression.  On  the  receipt  of  such  a  let- 
ter, the  Government  lay  a  trap  for  their  adversaries,  and 
surround  the  threatened  spot  with  hirehngs.  My  blood 
sometimes  boils  in  my  veins,  when  I  consider  tlie  case  of  those 
who  sell  themselves  for  money  in  such  a  cause.  True,  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of  our  supporters,  we  patriots  receive  a 
very  comfortable  stipend;  I,  myself,  of  course,  touch  a 
salary  which  puts  me  quite  beyond  the  reach  of  any  ped- 
dling, mercenary  thoughts;  M'Guire,  again,  ere  he  joined 
our  ranks,  was  on  the  brink  of  starving,  and  now,  thank 
God!  receives  a  decent  income.  That  is  as  it  should  be;  the 
patriot  must  not  be  diverted  from  his  task  by  any  base 
consideration;  and  the  distinction  between  our  position  and 
that  of  the  police  Is  too  obvious  to  be  stated. 

443 


THE  DYNAMITER] 

Plainly,  however,  our  Leicester  Square  design  liad  been 
divulged;  the  Government  had  craftily  filled  the  place  with 
minions ;  even  the  pensioner  was  not  improbably  a  hireling 
in  disguise;  and  our  emissary,  Avithout  other  aid  or  protec- 
tion than  the  simple  apparatus  in  his  bag,  found  himself 
confronted  by  force;  brutal  force;  that  strong  hand  which 
was  a  character  of  the  ages  of  oppression.  Should  he 
venture  to  deposit  the  machine.  It  was  almost  certain  that 
he  would  be  observed  and  arrested;  a  cry  would  arise;  and 
there  was  just  a  fear  that  the  police  might  not  be  present 
in  sufficient  force,  to  protect  him  from  the  savagery  of  the 
mob.  The  scheme  must  be  delayed.  He  stood  with  his  bag 
on  his  arm,  pretending  to  survey  the  front  of  the  Alhambra, 
when  there  flashed  Into  his  mind  a  thought  to  appall  the 
bravest.  The  machine  was  set;  at  the  appointed  hour  it 
must  explode;  and  how,  in  the  interval,  was  he  to  be  rid 
of  it.? 

Put  yourself,  I  beseech  you,  into  the  body  of  that 
patriot.  There  he  was,  friendless  and  helpless ;  a  man  In  the 
very  flower  of  life,  for  he  is  not  yet  forty ;  with  long  years 
of  happiness  before  him;  and  now  condemned,  in  one  mo- 
ment, to  a  cruel  and  revolting  death  by  dynamite!  The 
square,  he  said,  went  round  him  hke  a  thaumatrope;  he  saw 
the  Alhambra  leap  into  the  air  like  a  balloon;  and  reeled 
against  the  railing.     It  is  probable  he  fainted. 

When  he  came  to  himself,  a  constable  had  him  by  the  arm. 
"  My  God !  "  he  cried. 

"  You  seem  to  be  unwell,  sir,"  said  the  hireling. 
"  I  feel  better  now,"  cried  poor  M'Guire ;  and  with  un- 
even steps,  for  the  pavement  of  the  square  seemed  to  lurch 
and  reel  under  his  footing,  he  fled  from  the  scene  of  this 
disaster.  Fled?  Alas,  from  what  was  he  fleeing?  Did  he 
not  carry  that  from  which  he  fled,  along  with  him?  and 
had  he  the  wings  of  the  eagle,  had  he  the  swiftness  of  the 
ocean  winds,  could  he  have  been  rapt  into  the  uttermost 
quarters  of  the  earth,  how  should  he  escape  the  ruin  that 
he  carried?  We  have  heard  of  living  men  who  have  been 
fettered  to  the  dead;  the  grievance,  soberly  considered,  is 

444 


THE    EXPLOSIVE    BOMB 

no  more  than  sentimental;  the  case  is  but  a  flea-bite  to  that 
of  him  who  was  Hnked,  hke  poor  M'Guire,  to  an  explosive 
bomb. 

A  thought  struck  him  in  Green  Street,  like  a  dart  through 
his  liver;  suppose  it  were  the  hour  already.  He  stopped 
as  though  he  had  been  shot,  and  plucked  his  watch  out. 
There  was  a  howling  in  his  ears,  as  loud  as  a  winter  tempest ; 
his  sight  was  now  obscured  as  if  by  a  cloud,  now,  as  by  a 
lightning  flash,  would  show  him  the  very  dust  upon  the 
street.  But  so  brief  were  these  intervals  of  vision,  and  so 
violently  did  the  watch  vibrate  in  his  hands,  that  it  was 
Impossible  to  distinguish  the  numbers  on  the  dial.  He  cov- 
ered his  eyes  for  a  few  seconds ;  and  in  that  space,  it  seemed 
to  him  that  he  had  fallen  to  be  a  man  of  ninety.  When  he 
looked  again,  the  watch-plate  had  grown  legible:  he  had 
twenty  minutes.     Twenty  minutes,  and  no  plan ! 

Green  Street  at  that  time  was  very  empty;  and  he  now 
observed  a  httle  girl  of  about  six  drawing  near  to  him  and, 
as  she  came,  kicking  in  front  of  her,  as  children  will,  a  piece 
of  wood.  She  sang,  too ;  and  something  in  her  accent  re- 
calling him  to  the  past,  produced  a  sudden  clearness  in  his 
mind.     Here  was  a  God-sent  opportunity ! 

"  My  dear,"  said  he,  "  would  you  Hke  a  present  of  a 
pretty  bag.^  " 

The  child  cried  aloud  with  joy  and  put  out  her  hands 
to  take  it.  She  had  looked  first  at  the  bag,  like  a  true  cliild ; 
but  most  unfortunately,  before  she  had  yet  received  the  fatal 
gift,  her  eyes  fell  directly  on  M'Guire;  and  no  sooner  had 
she  seen  the  poor  gentleman's  face,  than  she  screamed  out 
and  leaped  backward,  as  though  she  had  seen  the  devil. 
Almost  at  the  same  moment,  a  woman  appeared  upon  the 
threshold  of  a  neighboring  shop,  and  called  upon  the  child 
in  anger.  "  Come  here,  colleen,"  she  said,  "  and  don't  be 
plaguing  the  poor  old  gentleman ! "  With  that  she  re- 
entered the  house,  and  the  child  followed  her,  sobbing  aloud. 

With  the  loss  of  this  hope  M'Guire's  reason  swooned 
witliin  him.  When  next  he  awoke  to  consciousness,  he  was 
standing  before  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields,  wavering  like  a 

445 


THE  DYNAMITER 

4. 

drunken  man;  the  passers-by  regarding  him  with  eyes  in 
which  he  read,  as  in  a  glass,  an  image  of  the  terror  and 
horror  that  dwelt  within  his  own. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  are  very  ill,  sir,"  observed  a  woman, 
stopping  and  gazing  hard  in  his  face.  "  Can  I  do  anything 
to  help  you.''  " 

"  111.?  "  said  M'Guire.  "  O  God!  "  And  then,  recovering 
some  shadow  of  his  self-command,  "  Chronic,  madam,"  said 
he ;  "  a  long  course  of  the  dumb  ague.  But  since  you  are  so  ' 
compassionate — an  errand  that  I  lack  the  strength  to  carry  * 
out,"  he  gasped — "  this  bag  to  Portman  Square.  O  com- 
passionate woman,  as  you  hope  to  be  saved,  as  you  are  a 
mother,  in  the  name  of  your  babies  that  wait  to  welcome  you 
at  home,  oh,  take  this  bag  to  Portman  Square!  I  have  a 
mother,  too,"  he  added,  with  a  broken  voice.  "  Number  19, 
Portman  Square." 

I  suppose  he  had  expressed  himself  with  too  much  energy 
of  voice ;  for  the  woman  was  plainly  taken  with  a  certain 
fear  of  him.  "  Poor  gentleman !  "  said  she.  "  If  I  were  you, 
I  would  go  home."  And  she  left  him  standing  there  in 
his  distress. 

"  Home !  "  thought  M'Guire,  "  what  a  derision !  "  What 
home  was  there  for  him,  the  victim  of  philanthropy?  He 
thought  of  his  old  mother,  of  his  happy  youth;  of  the 
hideous,  rending  pang  of  the  explosion ;  of  the  possibility 
that  he  might  not  be  killed,  that  he  might  be  cruelly  man- 
gled, crippled  for  life,  condemned  to  hfe-long  pains,  bhnded 
perhaps,  and  almost  surely  deafened.  Ah,  you  spoke  lightly 
of  the  dynamiter's  peril;  but  even  waiving  death,  have  you 
realized  what  it  is  for  a  fine,  brave  young  man  of  forty,  to 
be  smitten  suddenly  with  deafness,  cut  off  from  all  the  music 
of  hfe,  and  from  the  voice  of  friendship  and  love.f*  How 
little  do  we  realize  the  sufferings  of  others !  Even  your 
brutal  Government,  in  the  heyday  of  its  lust  for  cruelty, 
though  it  scruples  not  to  hound  the  patriot  with  spies,  to 
pack  the  corrupt  jury,  to  bribe  the  hangman,  and  to  erect 
the  infamous  gallows,  would  hesitate  to  inflict  so  horrible 
a  doom :  not,  I  am  well  aware,  from  virtue,  not  from  philan- 

446 


THE   EXPLOSIVE   BOMB 

thropy,  but  with  the  fear  before  it  of  the  withering  scorn 
of  the  good. 

But  I  wander  from  M'Guire.  From  this  dread  glance 
into  the  past  and  future,  his  thoughts  returned  at  a  bound 
upon  the  present.  How  had  he  wandered  there?  and  how 
long — O  heavens  !  how  long  had  he  been  about  it  ?  He  pulled 
out  his  watch ;  and  found  that  but  three  minutes  had  elapsed. 
It  seemed  too  bright  a  tiling  to  be  believed.  He  glanced  at 
the  church  clock;  and  sure  enough,  it  marked  an  hour  four 
minutes  faster  than  the  watch. 

Of  all  that  he  endured,  M'Guire  declares  that  pang  was 
the  most  desolate.  Till  then  he  had  had  one  friend,  one 
counselor,  in  whom  he  plenarily  trusted;  by  whose  adver- 
tisement, he  numbered  the  minutes  that  remained  to  him  of 
life;  on  whose  sure  testimony,  he  could  tell  when  the  time 
was  come  to  risk  the  last  adventure,  to  cast  the  bag  away 
from  him,  and  take  to  flight.  And  now  in  what  was  he  to 
place  reliance.'*  His  watch  was  slow;  it  might  be  losing 
time;  if  so,  in  what  degree?  What  hmit  could  he  set  to  its 
derangement?  and  how  much  was  it  possible  for  a  watch  to 
lose  in  thirty  minutes?  Five?  ten'?  fifteen?  It  might  be 
so ;  already  it  seemed  years  since  he  had  left  St.  James's 
Hall  on  this  so  promising  enterprise;  at  any  moment,  then, 
the  blow  was  to  be  looked  for. 

In  the  face  of  this  new  distress,  the  wild  disorder  of  his 
pulses  settled  down;  and  a  broken  weariness  succeeded,  as 
though  he  had  Hved  for  centuries,  and  for  centuries  been 
dead.  The  buildings  and  the  people  in  the  street  became 
incredibly  small,  and  far-away,  and  bright ;  London  sounded 
in  his  ears  stilly,  like  a  whisper;  and  the  rattle  of  the  cab 
that  nearly  charged  him  down,  was  like  a  sound  from  Africa. 
Meanwhile,  he  was  conscious  of  a  strange  abstraction  from 
himself;  and  heard  and  felt  his  footfalls  on  the  ground,  as 
those  of  a  very  old,  small,  debile  and  tragically  fortuned 
man,  whom  he  sincerely  pitied. 

As  he  was  thus  moving  forward  past  the  National  Gal- 
lery, in  a  medium,  it  seemed,  of  greater  rarity  and  quiet 
than  ordinary  air,  there  slipped  into  his  mind  the  recollec- 

447 


THE  DYNAMITER 

tion  of  a  certain  entry  in  Whitcomb  Street  hard  by,  where 
he  might  perhaps  lay  down  his  tragic  cargo  unremarked. 
Thither,  then,  he  bent  his  steps,  seeming,  as  he  went,  to  float 
above  the  pavement;  and  there,  in  the  mouth  of  the 
entry,  he  found  a  man  in  a  sleeved  waistcoat,  gravely 
chewing  a  straw.  He  passed  him  by,  and  twice  patroled  the 
entry,  scouting  for  the  barest  chance;  but  the  man  had 
faced  about  and  continued  to  observe  him  curiously. 

Another  hope  was  gone.  M'Guire  reissued  from  the  entry, 
still  followed  by  the  wondering  eyes  of  the  man  in  the  sleeved 
waistcoat.  He  once  more  consulted  his  watch :  there  was  but 
fourteen  minutes  left  to  him.  At  that,  it  seemed  as  if  a 
sudden,  genial  heat  were  spread  about  his  brain ;  for  a  sec- 
ond or  two,  he  saw  the  world  as  red  as  blood ;  and  thereafter 
entered  into  a  complete  possession  of  himself,  with  an  in- 
credible cheerfulness  of  spirits,  prompting  him  to  sing  and 
chuckle  as  he  walked.  And  j^et  this  mirth  seemed  to  belong 
to  things  external ;  and  within  like  a  black  and  leaden-heavy 
kernel,  he  was  conscious  of  the  weight  upon  his  soul. 

I  care  for  nobody,  no,  not  I, 
And  nobody  cares  for  me, 

he  sang,  and  laughed  at  the  appropriate  burden,  so  that 
the  passengers  stared  upon  him  on  the  street.  And  still 
the  warmth  seemed  to  increase  and  to  become  more  genial. 
What  was  life.?  he  considered,  and  what  he,  M'Guire?  What 
even  Erin,  our  green  Erin?  All  seemed  so  incalculably  little 
that  he  smiled  as  he  looked  upon  it.  He  would  have  given 
years,  had  he  possessed  them,  for  a  glass  of  spirits;  but 
time  failed,  and  he  must  deny  himself  this  last  indulgence. 
At  the  corner  of  the  Haymarket,  he  very  jauntily  hailed 
a  hansom  cab;  jumped  in;  bade  the  fellow  drive  liim  to  a 
part  of  the  Embankment,  which  he  named;  and  as  soon  as 
the  vehicle  was  in  motion,  concealed  the  bag  as  completely 
as  he  could  under  the  vantage  of  the  apron,  and  once  more 
drew  out  his  watch.  So  he  rode  for  five  interminable  min- 
utes, his  heart  in  his  mouth  at  every  jolt,  scarce  able  to 
possess  his  terrors,  yet  fearing  to  wake  the  attention  of  the 

448 


,THE   EXPLOSIVE   BOMB 

3rlver  by  too  obvious  a  change  of  plan,  and  willing,  if  pos- 
sible, to  leave  him  time  to  forget  the  Gladstone  bag. 

At  length,  at  the  head  of  some  stairs  on  the  Embankment, 
he  hailed;  the  cab  was  stopped,  and  he  alighted — with  how 
glad  a  heart !  He  thrust  his  hand  into  his  pocket.  All  was 
now  over;  he  had  saved  liis  life;  nor  that  alone,  but  he  had 
engineered  a  striking  act  of  d3Tiaraite;  for  what  could  be 
more  pictorial,  what  more  effective,  than  the  explosion  of  a 
hansom  cab  as  it  sped  rapidly  along  the  streets  of  London. 
He  felt  in  one  pocket,  then  in  another.  The  most  crushing 
seizure  of  despair  descended  on  his  soul,  and  struck  into 
abject  dumbness,  he  stared  upon  the  driver.  He  had  not 
one  penny. 

"  Hillo,"  said  the  driver ;  "  don't  seem  well." 

"  Lost  my  money,"  said  M'Guire,  in  tones  so  faint  and 
strange  that  they  surprised  liis  hearing. 

The  man  looked  through  the  trap.  "  I  dessay,"  said  he; 
**  you've  left  your  bag." 

M'Guire  half  unconsciously  fetched  it  out,  and  looking 
on  that  black  continent  at  arm's  length,  withered  inwardly 
and  felt  his  features  sharpen  as  with  mortal  sickness. 

"  This  is  not  mine,"  said  he.  "  Your  last  fare  must  have 
left  it.     You  had  better  take  it  to  the  station." 

"  Now  look  here,"  returned  the  cabman,  "  are  you  off 
your  chump .^  or  am  I?  " 

"  Well,  then,  I'll  tell  you  what,"  exclaimed  M'Guire,  "  you 
take  it  for  your  fare." 

"Oh,  I  dessay,"  replied  the  driver.  "Anything  else.^ 
what's  in  your  bag?     Open  it  and  let  me  see." 

"No,  no,"  returned  M'Guire.  "Oh,  no,  not  that.  It's 
a  surprise ;  it's  prepared  expressly ;  a  surprise  for  honest 
cabmen." 

"  No,  you  don't,"  said  the  man,  alighting  from  his  perch, 
and  coming  very  close  to  the  unhappy  patriot.  "  You're 
either  going  to  pay  my  fare,  or  get  in  again  and  drive  to 
the  office." 

It  was  at  this  supreme  hour  of  his  distress  that  ]M'Guire 
spied  the  stout  figure  of  one  Godall,  a  tobacconist  of  Rupei't 

4t9 


THE   DYNAMITER 

Street,  drawing  near  along  the  Embankment.  The  man 
was  not  unknown  to  him ;  he  had  bought  of  his  wares,  and 
heard  him .  quoted  for  the  soul  of  liberality ;  and  such  was 
now  the  nearness  of  his  peril  that  even  at  such  a  straw  of 
hope  he   clutched  with  gratitude. 

"  Thank  God !  "  he  cried.  "  Here  comes  a  friend  of  mine. 
I'll  borrow."  And  he  dashed  to  meet  the  tradesman.  "  Sir," 
said  he,  "  Mr.  Godall,  I  have  dealt  with  you — you  doubtless 
know  my  face — calamities  for  which  I  can  not  blame  my- 
self have  overwhelmed  me.  Oh,  sir,  for  the  love  of  inno- 
cence, for  the  sake  of  the  bonds  of  humanity,  and  as  you 
hope  for  mercy  at  the  throne  of  grace,  lend  me  two-and- 
six!" 

"  I  do  not  recognize  your  face,"  replied  Mr.  Godall ; 
"  but  I  remember  the  cut  of  your  beard,  which  I  have  the 
misfortune  to  dislike.  Here,  sir,  is  a  sovereign,  which  I 
very  willingly  advance  to  you  on  the  single  condition  that 
you  shave  your  chin." 

M'Guire  grasped  the  coin  without  a  word,  cast  it  to  the 
cabman,  calling  out  to  him  to  keep  the  change;  bounded 
down  the  steps,  flung  the  bag  far  forth  into  the  river,  and 
fell  headlong  after  it.  He  was  plucked  from  a  watery 
grave,  it  is  believed,  by  the  hands  of  Mr.  Godall.  Even 
as  he  was  being  hoisted,  dripping,  to  the  shore,  a  dull  and 
choked  explosion  shook  the  solid  masonry  of  the  Embank- 
ment, and  far  out  in  the  river  a  momentary  fountain  rose 
and  disappeared. 


450 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION    (cOTlUnUed) 

SOMERSET  in  vain  strove  to  attach  a  meaning  to  these 
words.  He  had  in  the  meanwhile  appHed  himself  as- 
siduously to  the  flagon ;  the  plotter  began  to  melt  in  twain, 
and  seemed  to  expand  and  hover  on  his  seat,  and  with  a 
vague  sense  of  nightmare,  the  young  man  rose  unsteadily 
to  his  feet,  and,  refusing  the  proffer  of  a  third  grog,  in- 
sisted that  the  hour  was  late  and  he  must  positively  go  to 
bed. 

"  Dear  me,"  observed  Zero,  "  I  find  you  very  temperate. 
But  I  will  not  be  oppressive.  Suffice  it  that  we  are  now  fast 
friends ;  and,  my  dear  landlord,  au  revoir!  " 

So  saying  the  plotter  once  more  shook  hands ;  and  with 
the  poKtest  ceremonies,  and  some  necessary  guidance,  con- 
ducted the  bewildered  young  gentleman  to  the  top  of  the 
stair. 

Precisely  how  he  got  to  bed  was  a  point  on  which  Somer- 
set remained  in  utter  darkness ;  but  the  next  morning  when, 
at  a  blow,  he  started  broad  awake,  there  fell  upon  his  mind 
a  perfect  hurricane  of  horror  and  wonder.  That  he  should 
have  suff^ered  himself  to  be  led  into  the  semblance  of  inti- 
macy with  such  a  man  as  his  abominable  lodger,  appeared, 
in  the  cold  light  of  day,  a  mystery  of  human  weakness. 
True,  he  was  caught  in  a  situation  that  might  have  tested 
the  aplomb  of  Talleyrand.  That  was  perhaps  a  palliation ; 
but  it  was  no  excuse.  For  so  wholesale  a  capitulation  of 
principle,  for  such  a  fall  into  criminal  familiarity,  no  ex- 
cuse indeed  was  possible;  nor  any  remedy,  but  to  withdraw 
at  once  from  the  relation. 

As  soon  as  he  was  dressed,  he  hurried  up  stairs,  determined 
on  a  rupture.  Zero  hailed  him  with  the  warmth  of  an  old 
friend. 

451 


THE  DYNAMITER 

"  Come  in,"  he  cried,  "  dear  Mr.  Somerset !  Come  in,  sit 
down,  and  without  ceremony,  join  me  at  my  morning 
meal." 

*'  Sir,"  said  Somerset,  "  you  must  permit  me  first  to 
disengage  my  honor.  Last  night  I  was  surprised  into  a 
certain  appearance  of  complicity;  but  once  for  all,  let  me 
inform  you  that  I  regard  you  and  your  machinations  with 
unmiriglcd  horror  and  disgust,  and  I  will  leave  no  stone 
unturned  to  crush  your  vile  conspiracy." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  replied  Zero,  with  an  air  of  some 
complacency,  "  I  am  well  accustomed  to  these  human  weak- 
nesses. Disgust?  I  have  felt  it  myself;  it  speedily  wears 
off.  I  think  none  the  worse,  I  think  the  more  of  you  for  this 
engaging  frankness.  And  in  the  meanwhile,  what  are  you 
to  do.'*  You  find  yourself,  if  I  interpret  rightly,  in  very 
much  the  same  situation  as  Charles  the  Second  (possiblj'^ 
the  least  degraded  of  your  British  sovereigns)  when  he  was 
taken  into  the  confidence  of  the  thief.  To  denounce  me,  is 
out  of  the  question;  and  what  else  can  you  attempt?  No, 
dear  Mr.  Somerset,  your  hands  are  tied;  and  you  find  your- 
self condemned,  under  pain  of  behaving  like  a  cad,  to  be  that 
same  charming  and  intellectual  companion  who  delighted  me 
last  night." 

"  At  least,"  cried  Somerset,  "  I  can  and  do  order  you  to 
leave  this  house." 

"Ah!"  cried  the  plotter,  "but  there  I  fail  to  follow 
you.  You  may,  if  you  choose,  enact  the  part  of  Judas ; 
but  if,  as  I  suppose,  you  recoil  from  that  extremity  of  mean- 
ness, I  am,  on  my  side,  far  too  intelligent  to  leave  these 
lodgings,  in  which  I  please  myself  exceedingly,  and  from 
which  you  lack  the  power  to  drive  me.  No,  no,  dear  sir; 
here  I  am,  and  here  I  propose  to  stay." 

"  I  repeat,"  cried  Somerset,  beside  himself  with  a  sense 
of  his  own  weakness,  "  I  repeat  that  I  give  you  warning. 
I  am  master  of  this  house;  and  I  emphatically  give  you 
warning." 

"  A  week's  warning?  "  said  the  imperturbable  conspirator. 
"  Very  well ;  we  will  talk  of  it  a  week  from  now.     That  is 

452 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS   MANSION 

arranged;  and  in  the  meanwhile,  I  observe  my  breakfast 
growing  cold.  Do,  dear  Mr.  Somerset,  since  you  find  your- 
self condemned,  for  a  week  at  least,  to  the  society  of  a  very 
interesting  character,  display  some  of  that  open  favor, 
some  of  that  interest  in  life's  obscurer  sides,  which  stamp 
the  character  of  the  true  artist.  Hang  me,  if  you  will, 
to-morrow ;  but  to-day  show  yourself  divested  of  the  scruples 
of  the  burgess,  and  sit  down  pleasantly  to  share  my  meal." 

"  Man !  "  cried  Somerset,  "  do  you  understand  my  senti- 
ments ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  replied  Zero ;  "  and  I  respect  them !  Would 
you  be  outdone  in  such  a  contest.''  will  you  alone  be  partial? 
and  in  this  nineteenth  century,  can  not  two  gentlemen  of 
education  agree  to  differ  on  a  point  of  politics?  Come,  sir; 
all  your  hard  words  have  left  me  smiling;  judge  then,  which 
of  us  is  the  philosopher!" 

Somerset  was  a  young  man  of  a  very  tolerant  disposition 
and  by  nature  easily  amenable  to  sophistry.  He  threw  up 
his  hands  with  a  gesture  of  despair,  and  took  the  seat  to 
which  the  conspirator  invited  him.  The  meal  was  excellent; 
the  host  not  only  affable,  but  primed  with  curious  informa- 
tion. He  seemed,  indeed,  like  one  who  had  too  long  endured 
the  torture  of  silence,  to  exult  in  the  most  wholesale  dis- 
closures. The  interest  of  what  he  had  to  tell,  was  great; 
his  character,  besides,  developed  step  by  step ;  and  Somerset, 
as  the  time  fled,  not  only  outgrew  some  of  the  discomfort 
of  his  false  position,  but  began  to  regard  the  conspirator 
with  a  familiarity  that  verged  upon  contempt.  In  any  cir- 
cumstances, he  had  a  singular  inability  to  leave  the  society 
in  which  he  found  himself;  company,  even  if  distasteful, 
held  him  captive  like  a  limed  sparrow;  and  on  this  occasion, 
he  suffered  hour  to  follow  hour,  was  easily  persuaded  to 
sit  down  once  more  to  table,  and  did  not  even  attempt  to 
withdraw,  till,  on  the  approach  of  evening.  Zero,  with  many 
apologies,  dismissed  his  guest.  His  fellow-conspirators,  the 
dynamiter  handsomely  explained,  as  they  were  unacquainted 
with  the  sterling  qualities  of  the  young  man,  would  be 
alarmed  at  the  sight  of  a  strange  face. 

453 


THE  DYNAMITER 

As  soon  as  he  was  alone,  Somerset  fell  back  upon  the 
humor  of  the  morning.  He  raged  at  the  thought  of  his 
facihty;  he  paced  the  dining-room,  forming  the  sternest 
resolutions  for  the  future;  he  wrung  the  hand  which  had 
been  dishonored  by  the  touch  of  an  assassin;  and  among  all 
these  whirling  thoughts,  there  flashed  in,  from  time  to  time, 
and  ever  with  a  chill  of  fear,  the  thought  of  the  confounded 
ingredients  with  which  the  house  was  stored.  A  powder- 
magazine  seemed  a  secure  smoking-room  alongside  of  the 
Superfluous  Mansion. 

He  sought  refuge  in  flight,  in  locomotion,  in  the  flowing 
bowl.  As  long  as  the  bars  were  open,  he  traveled  from  one 
to  another,  seeking  light,  safety  and  the  companionship  of 
human  faces ;  when  these  resources  failed  him,  he  fell  back 
on  the  belated  baked-potato  man ;  and  at  length,  still  pacing 
the  streets,  he  was  goaded  to  fraternize  with  the  police. 
Alas,  with  what  a  sense  of  guilt  he  conversed  with  these 
guardians  of  the  law;  how  gladly  had  he  wept  upon  their 
ample  bosoms ;  and  how  the  secret  fluttered  to  his  lips  and 
was  still  denied  an  exit!  Fatigue  began  at  last  to  triumph 
over  remorse;  and  about  the  hour  of  the  first  milkman,  he 
returned  to  the  door  of  the  mansion;  looked  at  it  with  a 
horrid  expectation,  as  though  it  should  have  burst  that  in- 
stant into  flames ;  drew  out  his  key,  and  when  his  foot 
already  rested  on  the  steps,  once  more  lost  heart  and  fled 
for  repose  to  the  grisly  shelter  of  a  coffee-shop. 

It  was  on  the  stroke  of  noon  when  he  awoke.  Dismally 
searching  in  his  pockets,  he  found  himself  reduced  to  half- 
a-crown;  and  when  he  had  paid  the  price  of  his  distasteful 
couch,  saw  himself  obliged  to  return  to  the  Superfluous 
Mansion.  He  sneaked  into  the  hall,  and  stole  on  tiptoe  to 
the  cupboard  where  he  kept  his  money.  Yet  half  a  minute, 
he  told  himself,  and  he  would  be  free  for  days  from  his 
obsessing  lodger,  and  might  decide  at  lesiure  on  the  course 
he  should  pursue.  But  fate  had  otherwise  designed;  there 
came  a  tap  at  the  door  and  Zero  entered. 

"  Have  I  caught  you.''  "  he  cried,  with  innocent  gayety. 
**  Dear  fellow,  I  was  growing  quite  impatient."     And  on 

454 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MAXSIOX 

the  speaker's  somewhat  stolid  face,  there  came  a  glow  of 
genuine  affection.  "  I  am  so  long  unused  to  have  a  friend," 
he  continued,  "  that  I  begin  to  be  afraid  I  may  prove  jeal- 
ous."   And  he  wrung  the  hand  of  his  landlord. 

Somerset  was,  of  all  men,  least  fit  to  deal  with  such  a 
greeting.  To  reject  these  kind  advances  was  beyond  his 
strength.  That  he  could  not  return  cordiality  for  cor- 
diality, was  already  almost  more  than  he  could  carry.  That 
inequality  between  kind  sentiments,  which,  to  generous  char- 
acters, will  always  seem  to  be  a  sort  of  guilt,  oppressed  him 
to  the  ground ;  and  he  stammered  vague  and  lying  words. 

"  That  is  all  right,"  cried  Zero — "  that  is  as  It  should  be 
— say  no  more!  I  had  a  vague  alarm;  I  feared  you  had 
deserted  me ;  but  I  now  own  that  fear  to  have  been  un- 
worthy, and  apologize.  To  doubt  of  your  forgiveness  were 
to  repeat  my  sin.  Come,  then;  dinner  waits;  join  me  again 
and  tell  me  your  adventures  of  the  night." 

Kindness  still  sealed  the  lips  of  Somerset ;  and  he  suffered 
himself  once  more  to  be  set  down  to  table  with  his  Innocent 
and  criminal  acquaintance.  Once  more,  the  plotter  plunged 
up  to  the  neck  In  damaging  disclosures :  now  It  would  be  the 
name  and  biography  of  an  Individual,  now  the  address  of 
some  Important  center,  that  rose,  as  If  by  accident,  upon 
his  lips ;  and  each  word  was  like  another  turn  of  the  thumb- 
screw to  his  unhappy  guest.  Finally,  the  course  of  Zero's 
bland  monologue  led  him  to  the  young  lady  of  two  days 
ago:  that  young  lady,  who  had  flashed  on  Somerset  for  so 
brief  a  while  but  with  so  conquering  a  charm;  and  whose 
engaging  grace,  communicative  eyes,  and  admirable  con- 
duct of  the  sweeping  skirt,  remained  imprinted  on  his 
memory. 

"You  saw  her.?"'  said  Zero.  "Beautiful,  is  she  not? 
She,  too,  is  one  of  ours :  a  true  enthusiast :  nervous,  perhaps, 
in  presence  of  the  chemicals ;  but  In  matters  of  Intrigue,  the 
very  soul  of  skill  and  daring.  Lake,  Fonblanque,  de  JNIarly, 
Valdevia,  such  are  some  of  the  names  that  she  employs ; 
her  true  name — but  there,  perhaps,  I  go  too  far.  Suffice  It, 
that  it  Is  to  her  I  owe  my  present  lodging  and,  dear  Somer- 

455 


THE   DYNAMITER 

set,  the  pleasure  of  your  acquaintance.  It  appears  she 
knew  the  house.  You  see,  dear  fellow,  I  make  no  conceal- 
ment: all  that  you  can  care  to  hear,  I  tell  you  openly." 

"  For  God's  sake,"  cried  the  wretched  Somerset,  "  hold 
your  tongue !  You  cannot  imagine  how  you  torture 
me ! " 

A  shade  of  serious  discomposure  crossed  the  open  coun- 
tenance of  Zero. 

"  There  are  times,"  he  said,  "  when  I  begin  to  fancy  that 
you  do  not  like  me.  Why,  why,  dear  Somerset,  this  lack  of 
cordiality  ?  I  am  depressed ;  the  touchstone  of  my  life  draws 
near ;  and  if  I  fail  " — he  gloomily  nodded — "  from  all  the 
height  of  my  ambitious  scliemes,  I  fall,  dear  boy,  into  con- 
tempt. These  are  grave  thoughts,  and  you  may  judge  my 
need  of  your  delightful  company.  Innocent  prattler,  you 
relieve  the  weight  of  my  concerns.  And  yet  .  .  .  and 
yet  .  .  ."  The  speaker  pushed  away  his  plate,  and  rose 
from  table.  "  Follow  me,"  said  he,  "  follow  me.  My 
mood  is  on ;  I  must  have  air,  I  must  behold  the  plain  of 
battle." 

So  saying,  he  led  the  way  hurriedly  to  the  top  flat  of  the 
mansion,  and  thence,  by  ladder  and  trap,  to  a  certain  leaded 
platform,  sheltered  at  one  end  by  a  great  stalk  of  chimneys 
and  occupying  the  actual  summit  of  the  roof.  On  both 
sides,  it  bordered,  without  parapet  or  rail,  on  the  incline 
of  slates ;  and,  northward  above  all,  commanded  an  extensive 
view  of  housetops,  and  rising  through  the  smoke,  the  distant 
spires  of  churches. 

"  Here,"  cried  Zero,  "  you  behold  this  field  of  city,  rich, 
crowded,  laughing  with  the  spoil  of  continents ;  but  soon, 
how  soon,  to  be  laid  low!  Some  day,  some  night,  from  this 
coign  of  vantage,  you  shall  perhaps  be  startled  by  the 
detonation  of  the  judgment  gun — not  sharp  and  empty  like 
the  crack  of  cannon,  but  deep-mouthed  and  unctuously  sol- 
emn. Instantly  thereafter,  you  shall  behold  the  flames  break 
forth.  Ay,"  he  cried,  stretching  forth  his  hand,  "  ay,  that 
will  be  a  day  of  retribution.  Then  shall  the  pallid  constable 
flee  side  by  side  with  the  detected  thief.     Blaze ! "  he  cried, 

456 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

*'  blaze,  derided  city !  Fall,  flatulent  monarchy,  fall  like 
Dagon ! " 

With  these  words  his  foot  slipped  upon  the  lead ;  and 
but  for  Somerset's  quickness,  he  had  been  instantly  precipi- 
tated into  space.  Pale  as  a  sheet,  and  limp  as  a  pocket- 
handkerchief,  he  was  dragged  from  the  edge  of  downfall  by 
one  arm;  helped,  or  rather  carried,  down  the  ladder;  and 
deposited  in  safety  on  the  attic  landing.  Here  he  began  to 
come  to  himself,  wiped  his  brow,  and  at  length,  seizing 
Somerset's  hand  in  both  of  his,  began  to  utter  his  acknowl- 
edgments. 

"  This  seals  it,"  said  he.  "  Ours  is  a  life  and  death  con- 
nection. You  have  plucked  me  from  the  jaws  of  death; 
and  if  I  were  before  attracted  by  your  character,  judge  now 
of  the  ardor  of  my  gratitude  and  love?  But  I  perceive  I 
am  still  greatly  shaken.  Lend  me,  I  beseech  you,  lend  me 
your  arm  as  far  as  my  apartment." 

A  dram  of  spirits  restored  the  plotter  to  something  of 
his  customary  self-possession ;  and  he  was  standing,  glass 
in  hand  and  genially  convalescent,  when  his  eye  was  at- 
tracted by  the  dejection  of  the  unfortunate  young  man. 

"  Good  heavens,  dear  Somerset,"  he  cried,  "  what  ails 
you.?     Let  me  offer  you  a  touch  of  spirits." 

But  Somerset  had  fallen  below  the  reach  of  this  material 
comfort. 

"  Let  me  be,"  he  said,  "  I  am  lost ;  you  have  caught  me 
in  the  toils.  Up  to  this  moment  I  have  lived  all  my  life  in 
the  most  reckless  manner,  and  done  exactly  what  I  pleased, 
with  the  most  perfect  innocence.  And  now — what  am  I.'* 
Are  you  so  blind  and  wooden  that  you  do  not  see  the  loathing 
you  inspire  me  with?  Is  it  possible  you  can  suppose  me 
willing  to  continue  to  exist  upon  such  terms?  To  think," 
he  cried,  "  that  a  young  man,  guilty  of  no  fault  on  earth 
but  amiability,  should  find  himself  involved  in  such  a  damned 
imbroglio ! "  And  placing  his  knuckles  in  his  eyes,  Somer- 
set rolled  upon  the  sofa. 

"  My  God,"  said  Zero,  "  is  this  possible?  And  I  so  filled 
with  tenderness   and  interest!     Can  it  be,  dear  Somerset, 

457 


THE  DYNAMITER 

that  you  are  under  the  emph'e  of  these  outworn  scruples? 
or  that  you  judge  a  patriot  by  the  morality  of  the  religious 
tract?     I  thought  you  were  a  good  agnostic." 

"  Mr.  Jones,"  said  Somerset,  "  it  is  in  vain  to  argue.  I 
boast  myself  a  total  disbeliever  not  only  in  revealed  religion, 
but  in  the  data,  method  and  conclusions  of  the  whole  of 
ethics.  Well!  what  matters  it?  what  signifies  a  form  of 
words?  I  regard  you  as  a  reptile,  whom  I  would  rejoice, 
whom  I  long,  to  stamp  under  my  heel.  You  would  blow  up 
others?  Well  then,  understand:  I  want,  with  every  circum- 
stance of  infamy  and  agony,  to  blow  up  you !  " 

"  Somerset,  Somerset ! "  said  Zero,  turning  very  pale, 
"  this  is  wrong ;  this  is  very  wrong.  You  pain,  you  wound 
me,  Somerset." 

"  Give  me  a  match !  "  cried  Somerset  wildly.  "  Let  me 
set  fire  to  this  incomparable  monster!  Let  me  perish  with 
him  in  his  fall !  " 

"  For  God's  sake,"  cried  Zero,  clutching  hold  of  the 
young  man,  "  for  God's  sake  command  yourself!  We  stand 
upon  the  brink ;  death  yawns  around  us ;  a  man — a  stranger 
in  this  foreign  land — one  whom  you  have  called  your 
friend " 

"  Silence !  "  cried  Somerset,  "  you  are  no  friend,  no  friend 
of  mine.  I  look  on  you  with  loathing,  like  a  toad:  my 
flesh  creeps  with  physical  repulsion ;  my  soul  revolts  against 
the  sight  of  you." 

Zero  burst  Into  tears.  "  Alas !  "  he  sobbed,  "  this  snaps 
the  last  link  that  bound  me  to  humanity.  My  friend  dis- 
owns— he  insults  me.     I  am  Indeed  accursed." 

Somerset  stood  for  an  instant  staggered  by  this  sudden 
change  of  front.  The  next  moment,  with  a  despair- 
ing gesture,  he  fled  from  the  room  and  from  the  house. 
The  first  dash  of  his  escape  carried  him  hard  upon  half- 
way to  the  next  police-office ;  but  presently  he  began  to 
droop ;  and  before  he  reached  the  house  of  lawful  interven- 
tion, he  fell  once  more  among  doubtful  counsels.  Was  he 
an  agnostic?  had  he  a  right  to  act?  Away  with  such  non- 
sense,  and  let  Zero  perish!   ran  his  thoughts.     And  then 

45S. 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

again:  had  he  not  promised,  had  he  not  shaken  hands  and 
broken  bread?  and  that  with  open  eyes?  and  if  so  how  could 
he  take  action,  and  not  forfeit  honor?  But  honor!  what 
was  honor?  A  figment,  which,  in  the  hot  pursuit  of  crime 
he  ought  to  dash  aside.  Ay,  but  crime?  A  figment,  too, 
which  his  enfranchised  intellect  discarded.  All  day  he  wan- 
dered in  the  parks,  a  prey  to  whirling  thoughts ;  all  night, 
patrolled  the  city ;  and  at  the  peep  of  day  he  sat  down  by 
the  wayside  in  the  neighborhood  of  Peckham  and  bitterly 
wept.  His  gods  had  fallen.  He  who  had  chosen  the  broad, 
daylighted,  unencumbered  paths  of  universal  skepticism, 
found  himself  still  the  bondslave  of  honor.  He  who  had 
accepted  life  from  a  point  of  view  as  lofty  as  the  predatory 
eagle's,  though  with  no  design  to  prey ;  he  who  had  clearly 
recognized  the  common  moral  basis  of  war,  of  commercial 
competition,  and  of  crime;  he  who  was  prepared  to  help  the 
escaping  murderer  or  to  embrace  the  impenitent  thief,  found, 
to  the  overthrow  of  all  his  logic,  that  he  objected  to  the  use 
of  dynamite.  The  dawn  crept  among  the  sleeping  villas  and 
over  the  smokeless  fields  of  city ;  and  still  the  unfortunate 
skeptic  sobbed  over  his  fall  from  consistency. 

At  length,  he  rose  and  took  the  rising  sun  to  witness. 
"  There  is  no  question  as  to  fact,"  he  cried ;  "  right  and 
wrong  are  but  figments  and  the  shadow  of  a  word ;  but  for 
all  that,  there  are  certain  things  that  I  can  not  do,  and  there 
are  certain  others  that  I  will  not  stand."  Thereupon  he 
decided  to  return,  to  make  one  last  effort  of  persuasion,  and, 
if  he  could  not  prevail  on  Zero  to  desist  from  his  infernal 
trade,  throw  delicacy  to  the  winds,  give  the  plotter  an  hour's 
start,  and  denounce  him  to  the  police.  Fast  as  he  went, 
being  winged  by  this  resolution,  it  was  already  well  on  in 
the  morning,  when  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Superfluous  Man- 
sion. Tripping  down  the  steps,  was  the  young  lady  of  the 
various  aliases ;  and  he  was  surprised  to  see  upon  her  coun- 
tenance the  marks  of  anger  and  concern. 

"  Madam,"  he  began,  yielding  to  impulse  and  with  no 
clear  knowledge  of  what  he  was  to  add. 

But  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  she  seemed  to  experience  a 

459 


THE   DYNAMITER 

shock  of  fear  or  horror;  started  back;  lowered  her  veil 
with  a  sudden  movement;  and  fled,  without  turning,  from 
the  square. 

Here  then,  we  step  aside  a  moment  from  following  the 
fortunes  of  Somerset,  and  proceed  to  relate  the  strange  and 
romantic  episode  of  The  Brown  Box. 


460 


M 


DESBOROUGH  S    ADVENTURE:    THE    BROWN    BOX 

R.  HARRY  DESBOROUGH  lodged  in  the  fine  and 
grave  old  quarter  of  Bloomsbury,  roared  about  on 
every  side  by  the  high  tides  of  London,  but  itself  rejoicing 
in  romantic  silences  and  city  peace.  It  was  in  Queen  Square 
that  he  had  pitched  his  tent,  next  door  to  the  Children's 
Hospital,  on  your  left  hand  as  you  go  north :  Queen  Square, 
sacred  to  humane  and  liberal  arts,  whence  homes  were  made 
beautiful,  where  the  poor  were  taught,  where  the  sparrows 
were  plentiful  and  loud,  and  where  groups  of  patient  little 
ones  would  hover  all  day  long  before  the  hospital,  if  by 
chance  they  might  kiss  their  hand  or  speak  a  word  to  their 
sick  brother  at  the  window.  Desborough's  room  was  on  the 
first  floor  and  fronted  to  the  square;  but  he  enjoyed  besides, 
a  right  by  which  he  often  profited,  to  sit  and  smoke  upon  a 
terrace  at  the  back,  which  looked  down  upon  a  fine  forest  of 
back  gardens,  and  was  in  turn  commanded  by  the  windows 
of  an  empty  room. 

On  the  afternoon  of  a  warm  day,  Desborough  sauntered 
forth  upon  this  terrace,  somewhat  out  of  hope  and  heart, 
for  he  had  been  now  some  weeks  on  the  vain  quest  of  situa- 
tions, and  prepared  for  melancholy  and  tobacco.  Here,  at 
least,  he  told  himself  that  he  would  be  alone;  for,  hke  most 
youths,  who  are  neither  rich,  nor  witty,  nor  successful,  he 
rather  shunned  than  courted  the  society  of  other  men.  Even 
as  he  expressed  the  thought  his  eye  alighted  on  the  window 
of  the  room  that  looked  upon  the  terrace;  and  to  his  sur- 
prise and  annoyance,  he  beheld  it  curtained  with  a  silken 
hanging.  It  was  like  his  luck,  he  thought;  his  privacy  was 
gone,  he  could  no  longer  brood  and  sigh  unwatched,  he  could 
no  longer  suff"er  his  discouragement  to  find  a  vent  in  words 
or  soothe  himself  with  sentimental  Avhistling;  and  in  the 
irritation  of  the  moment  he  struck  his  pipe  upon  the  rail 

461 


THE  DYNAMITER 

with  unnecessary  force.  It  was  an  old,  sweet,  seasoned  brier- 
root,  glossy  and  dark  with  long  employment  and  justly 
dear  to  his  fancy.  What,  then,  was  his  chagrin,  when  the 
head  snapped  from  the  stem,  leaped  airily  in  space,  and 
fell  and  disappeared  among  the  lilacs  of  the  garden? 

He  threw  himself  savagely  into  the  garden  chair,  pulled 
out  the  story-paper  which  he  had  brought  with  him  to  read, 
tore  off  a  fragment  of  the  last  sheet,  which  contains  only 
the  answers  to  correspondents,  and  set  himself  to  roll  a 
cigarette.  He  was  no  master  of  the  art;  again  and  again, 
the  paper  broke  between  his  fingers  and  the  tobacco  show- 
ered upon  the  ground ;  and  he  was  already  on  the  point  of 
angry  resignation,  when  the  window  swung  slowly  inward 
the  silken  curtain  was  thrust  aside,  and  a  lady,  somewhat 
strangely  attired,  stepped  forth  upon  the  terrace. 

"  Senorito,"  said  she,  and  there  was  a  rich  thrill  in  her 
voice,  like  an  organ  note,  "  Senorito,  you  are  in  difficulties. 
Suffer  me  to  come  to  your  assistance." 

With  the  words,  she  took  the  paper  and  tobacco  from  his 
unresisting  hands ;  and  with  a  facility  that,  in  Desborough's 
eyes,  seemed  magical,  rolled  and  presented  him  a  cigarette. 
He  took  it,  still  without  a  word;  staring  with  all  his  eyes 
upon  that  apparition.  Her  face  was  warm  and  rich  in 
color ;  in  shape,  it  was  the  kitten  face,  that  piquant  triangle, 
so  mysterious,  so  pleasingly  attractive,  so  rare  in  our  more 
northern  climates ;  her  eyes  were  large,  starry  and  visited  by 
changing  lights ;  her  hair  was  partly  covered  by  a  lace  man- 
tilla, through  which  her  arms,  bare  to  the  shoulder,  gleamed 
white;  her  figure,  full  an^i  soft  in  all  the  womanly  contours, 
was  yet  alive  and  active,  light  with  excess  of  life,  and  slen- 
der by  grace  of  some  divine  proportion. 

"  You  do  not  like  my  cigarrito,  Senor?  "  she  asked.  "  Yet 
it  is  better  made  than  yours."  At  that  she  laughed,  and 
her  laughter  trilled  in  his  ear  like  music;  but  the  next  mo- 
ment her  face  fell.  "  I  see,"  she  cried.  "  It  is  my  manner 
that  repels  you.  I  am  too  constrained,  too  cold.  I  am 
not,"  she  added,  with  a  more  engaging  air,  "  I  am  not  the 
simple  EngHsh  maiden  I  appear." 


THE    BROWN    BOX 

"  Oh ! "  murmured  Harry,  filled  with  inexpressible 
thoughts. 

"  In  my  own  dear  land,"  she  pursued,  "  things  are  differ- 
ently ordered.  There,  I  must  own,  a  girl  is  bound  by  many 
and  rigorous  restrictions ;  little  is  permitted  her ;  she  learns 
to  be  distant,  she  learns  to  appear  forbidding.  But  here, 
in  free  England — O  glorious  liberty,"  she  cried,  and  threw 
up  her  arms  with  a  gesture  of  inimitable  grace — "  here  there 
are  no  fetters ;  here  the  woman  may  dare  to  be  herself  en- 
tirely, and  the  men,  the  chivalrous  men — is  it  not  written  on 
the  very  shield  of  your  nation,  honi  soit?  Ah,  it  is  hard  for 
me  to  leani,  hard  for  me  to  dare  to  be  myself.  You  must 
not  judge  me  yet  awhile;  I  shall  end  by  conquering  this  stiff- 
ness, I  shall  end  by  growing  English.  Do  I  speak  the  lan- 
guage well?  " 

"  Perfectly — oh,  perfectly !  "  said  Harry,  with  a  fervency 
of  conviction  worthy  of  a  graver  subject. 

"  Ah,  then,"  she  said,  "  I  shall  soon  learn ;  English  blood 
ran  in  my  father's  veins ;  and  I  have  had  the  advantage  of 
some  training  in  your  expressive  tongue.  If  I  speak  already 
without  accent,  with  my  thorough  English  appearance,  there 
is  nothing  left  to  change  except  my  manners." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Desborough.  "  Oh,  pray  not !  I — 
madam " 

"  I  am,"  interrupted  the  lady,  "  the  Seilorita  Teresa  Val- 
devia.  The  evening  air  grows  chill.  Adios,  Seilorito."  And 
before  Harry  could  stammer  out  a  word,  she  had  disap- 
peared into  her  room. 

He  stood  transfixed,  the  cigarette  still  unlighted  in  his 
hand.  His  thoughts  had  soared  above  tobacco,  and  still 
recalled  and  beautified  the  image  of  his  new  acquaintance. 
Her  voice  re-echoed  in  his  memory;  her  eyes,  of  which  he 
could  not  tell  the  color,  haunted  his  soul.  The  clouds  had 
risen  at  her  coming,  and  he  beheld  a  new-created  world. 
What  she  was,  he  could  not  fancy,  but  he  adored  her.  Her 
age,  he  durst  not  estimate ;  fearing  to  find  her  older  than 
himself,  and  thinking  sacrilege  to  couple  that  fair  favor  with 
the   thought    of   mortal   changes.      As    for   her    character, 

463 


THE  DYNAMITER 

beauty  lo  the  young  is  always  good.  So  the  poor  lad  lin- 
gered late  upon  the  terrace,  stealing  timid  glances  at  the 
curtained  window,  sighing  to  the  gold  laburnums,  rapt  into 
the  country  of  romance ;  and  when  at  length  he  entered  and 
sat  down  to  dine,  on  cold  boiled  mutton  and  a  pint  of  ale, 
he  feasted  on  the  food  of  gods. 

Next  day  when  he  returned  to  the  terrace,  the  window 
was  a  little  ajar  and  he  enjoyed  a  view  of  the  lady's  shoul- 
der, as  she  sat  patiently  sewing  and  all  unconscious  of  his 
presence.  On  the  next,  he  had  scarce  appeared  when  the 
window  opened,  and  the  Senorita  tripped  forth  into  the 
sunlight,  in  a  morning  disorder,  delicately  neat,  and  yet 
somehow  foreign,  tropical  and  strange.  In  one  hand  she 
held  a  packet. 

"  Will  you  try,"  she  said,  "  some  of  my  father's  tobacco 
— from  dear  Cuba?  There,  as  I  suppose  you  know,  all 
smoke,  ladies  as  well  as  gentlemen.  So  you  need  not  fear 
to  annoy  me.  The  fragrance  will  remind  me  of  home.  My 
home,  Senor,  was  by  the  sea."  And  as  she  uttered  these 
few  words,  Desborough,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  real- 
ized the  poetry  of  the  great  deep.  "  Awake  or  asleep,  I 
dream  of  it ;  dear  home,  dear  Cuba !  " 

"  But  some  day,"  said  Desborough,  with  an  inward  pang, 
"  some  day  you  will  return  ?  " 

"  Never !  "  she  cried ;  "  ah,  never,  in  Heaven's  name !  " 

**  Are  you  then  resident  for  life  in  England  ?  "  he  in- 
quired, with  a  strange  lightening  of  spirit? 

"  You  ask  too  much,  for  you  ask  more  than  I  know," 
she  answered,  sadly ;  and  then,  resuming  her  gayety  of  man- 
ner :  "  But  you  have  not  tried  my  Cuban  tobacco,"  she 
said. 

"  Senorita,"  said  he,  shyly,  abashed  by  some  shadow  of 
coquetry  in  her  manner,  "  whatever  comes  to  me — you — I 
mean,"  he  concluded,  deeply  flushing,  "  that  I  have  no  doubt 
the  tobacco  is  delightful." 

"  Ah,  Senor,"  she  said,  with  almost  mournful  gravity, 
"  you  seemed  so  simple  and  good,  and  already  you  are  try- 
ing to  pay  compliments — and  besides,"  she  added,  brighten- 

464) 


THE    BROWN   BOX 

ing,  with  a  quick,  upward  glance,  into  a  smile,  "  you  do 
it,  oh,  so  badly !  English  gentlemen,  I  used  to  hear,  could 
be  fast  friends,  respectful,  honest  friends ;  could  be  com- 
panions, comforters,  if  the  need  arose,  or  champions,  and 
yet  never  encroach.  Do  not  seek  to  please  me  by  copying 
the  graces  of  my  countrymen.  Be  yourself;  the  frank, 
kindly,  honest  English  gentleman  that  I  have  heard  of  since 
my  childhood  and  still  long  to  meet." 

Harry,  much  bewildered,  and  far  from  clear  as  to  the 
manners  of  the  Cuban  gentleman,  strenuously  disclaimed  the 
thought  of  plagiarism. 

"  Your  national  seriousness  of  bearing  best  becomes  you, 
Senor,"  said  the  lady.  "  See ! "  marking  a  line  with  her 
dainty,  slippered  foot,  "  thus  far  it  shall  be  common  ground ; 
there,  at  my  window-sill,  begins  the  scientific  frontier.  If 
you  choose,  you  may  drive  me  to  my  forts ;  but  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  are  to  be  real  English  friends,  I  may  join 
you  here  when  I  am  not  too  sad;  or,  when  I  am  yet  more 
graciously  inclined,  you  may  draw  your  chair  beside  the 
window  and  teach  me  English  customs,  while  I  work.  You 
will  find  me  an  apt  scholar,  for  my  heart  is  in  the  task." 
She  laid  her  hand  lightly  upon  Harry's  arm,  and  looked  into 
his  eyes.  "  Do  you  know,"  said  she,  "  I  am  emboldened  to 
believe  that  I  have  already  caught  something  of  your 
English  aplomb?  Do  you  not  perceive  a  change,  Senor? 
Slight,  perhaps,  but  still  a  change?  Is  my  deportment  not 
more  open,  more  free,  more  like  that  of  the  dear  '  British 
Miss,'  than  when  you  saw  me  first?  "  She  gave  a  radiant 
smile ;  withdrew  her  hand  from  Harry's  arm ;  and  before 
the  young  man  could  formulate  in  words  the  eloquent  emo- 
tions that  ran  riot  through  his  brain — ^with  an  "  Adios, 
Senor:  good-night,  my  English  friend,"  she  vanished  from 
his  sight  behind  the  curtain. 

The  next  day,  Harry  consumed  an  ounce  of  tobacco  in 
vain  upon  the  neutral  terrace ;  neither  sight  nor  sound  re- 
warded him,  and  the  dinner-hour  summoned  him  at  length 
from  the  scene  of  disappointment.  On  the  next,  it  rained ; 
but   nothing,   neither   business   nor   weather,   neither   pros- 

4>65 


THE   DYNAJNIITER 

pective  poverty  nor  present  hardship,  could  now  divert  the 
young  man  from  the  service  of  his  lady;  and  wrapped  in  a 
long  ulster,  with  the  collar  raised,  he  took  his  stand  against 
the  balustrade,  awaiting  fortune,  the  picture  of  damp  and 
discomfort  to  the  eye,  but  glowing  inwardly  with  tender  and 
delightful  ardors.  Presently  the  window  opened;  and  the 
fair  Cuban,  with  a  smile  imperfectly  dissembled,  appeared 
upon  the  sill. 

"  Come  here,"  she  said,  "  here,  beside  my  window.  The 
small  veranda  gives  a  belt  of  shelter."  And  she  graciously 
handed  him  a  folding-chair. 

As  he  sat  down,  visibly  aglow  with  shyness  and  delight,  a 
certain  bulkiness  in  his  pocket  reminded  him  that  he  was  not 
come  empty-handed. 

"  I  have  taken  the  liberty,"  said  he,  "  of  bringing  you  a 
little  book.  I  thought  of  you,  when  I  observed  it  on  the 
stall,  because  I  saw  it  was  in  Spanish.  The  man  assured  me 
it  was  by  one  of  the  best  authors,  and  quite  proper."  As 
he  spoke,  he  placed  the  little  volume  in  her  hand.  Her 
eyes  fell  as  she  turned  the  pages,  and  a  flush  rose  and 
died  again  upon  her  cheeks,  as  deep  as  it  was  fleeting. 
"  You  are  angry,"  he  cried  in  agony.  "  I  have  pre- 
sumed !  " 

"  No,  Senor,  it  is  not  that,""  returned  the  lady.  "  I " — 
and  a  flood  of  color  once  more  mounted  to  her  brow — "  I  am 
confused  and  ashamed  because  I  have  deceived  you.  Span- 
ish," she  began,  and  paused — "  Spanish  is  of  course  my 
native  tongue,"  she  resumed,  as  though  suddenly  taking 
courage ;  "  and  this  should  certainly  put  the  highest  value 
on  your  thoughtful  present;  but  alas,  sir,  of  what  use  is  it 
to  me?  And  how  shall  I  confess  to  you  the  truth — the 
humiliating  truth — that  I  can  not  read?  " 

As  Harry's  eyes  met  hers  in  undisguised  amazement,  the 
fair  Cuban  seemed  to  shrink  before  his  gaze.  "  Read?  " 
repeated  Harry.     "  You  ?  " 

She  pushed  the  window  still  more  widely  open  with  a  large 
and  noble  gesture.  "  Enter,  Senor,"  said  she.  "  The  time 
has  come  to  which  I  have  long  looked  forward,  not  without 

4(56 


THE   BROWN   BOX 

alarm;  when  I  must  either  fear  to  lose  your  friendship,  or 
tell  you  without  disguise  the  story  of  my  life." 

It  was  with  a  sentiment  bordering  on  devotion  that 
Harry  passed  the  window.  A  semi-barbarous  delight  in 
form  and  color  had  presided  over  the  studied  disorder  of  the 
room  in  which  he  found  himself.  It  was  filled  with  dainty 
stuffs,  furs  and  rugs  and  scarves  of  brilliant  hues,  and  set 
with  elegant  and  curious  trifles — fans  on  the  mantel-shelf, 
an  antique  lamp  upon  a  bracket,  and  on  the  table  a  silver- 
mounted  bowl  of  cocoa-nut  about  half  full  of  unset  jewels. 
The  fair  Cuban,  herself  a  gem  of  color  and  the  fit  master- 
piece for  that  rich  frame,  motioned  Harry  to  a  seat,  and 
sinking  herself  into  another,  thus  began  her  history. 


'm 


STORY  OF  THE  FAIR  CUBAN" 

I  Am  not  what  I  seem.  My  father  drew  his  descent,  on  the 
one  hand,  from  grandees  of  Spain,  and  on  the  other, 
through  the  maternal  Hne,  from  the  patriot  Bruce.  My 
mother,  too,  was  the  descendant  of  a  hne  of  kings ;  but,  alas ! 
these  kings  were  African.  She  was  fair  as  the  day:  fairer 
than  I,  for  I  inherited  a  darker  strain  of  blood  from  the 
veins  of  my  European  father ;  her  mind  was  noble,  her  man- 
ners queenly  and  accomplished;  and  seeing  her  more  than 
the  equal  of  her  neighbors  and  surrounded  by  the  most  con- 
siderate affection  and  respect,  I  grew  up  to  adore  her,  and 
when  the  time  came,  received  her  last  sigh  upon  my  lips,  still 
ignorant  that  she  was  a  slave  and  alas !  my  father's  mistress. 
Her  death,  which  befell  me  in  my  sixteenth  year,  was  the 
first  sorrow  I  had  known :  it  left  our  home  bereaved  of  its 
attractions,  cast  a  shade  of  melancholy  on  my  youth,  and 
wrought  in  my  father  a  tragic  and  durable  change.  Months 
went  by ;  with  the  elasticity  of  my  years,  I  regained  some  of 
the  simple  mirth  that  had  before  distinguished  me;  the 
plantation  smiled  with  fresh  crops ;  the  negroes  on  the  estate 
had  already  forgotten  my  mother  and  transferred  their  sim- 
ple obedience  to  myself;  but  still  the  cloud  only  darkened  on 
the  brows  of  Seilor  Valdevia.  His  absences  from  home  had 
been  frequent  even  in  the  old  days,  for  he  did  business  in 
precious  gems  in  the  city  of  Havana;  they  now  became 
almost  continuous ;  and  when  he  returned,  it  was  but  for  the 
night  and  with  the  manner  of  a  man  crushed  down  by  adverse 
fortune. 

The  place  where  I  was  bom  and  passed  my  days  was  an 
isle  set  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  some  half-hour's  rowing  from 
the  coast  of  Cuba.  It  was  steep,  rugged,  and,  except  for 
my  father's  familj'^  and  plantation,  uninhabited  and  left  to 

469 


THE   FAIR   CUBAN 

nature.  The  house,  a  low  building  surrounded  by  spacious 
verandas,  stood  upon  a  rise  of  ground  and  looked  across  the 
sea  to  Cuba.  The  breezes  blew  about  it  gratefully,  fanned 
us  as  we  lay  swinging  in  our  silken  hammocks,  and  tossed 
the  boughs  and  flowers  of  the  magnolia.  Behind  and  to  the 
left,  the  quarter  of  the  negroes  and  the  waving  fields  of  the 
plantation  covered  an  eighth  part  of  the  surface  of  the 
isle. 

On  the  right  and  closely  bordering  on  the  garden  lay  a 
vast  and  deadly  swamp,  densely  covered  with  wood,  breathing 
fever,  dotted  with  profound  sloughs,  and  inhabited  by 
poisonous  oysters,  man-eating  crabs,  snakes,  alligators  and 
sickly  fishes.  In  the  recesses  of  that  jungle  none  could  pene- 
trate but  those  of  African  descent ;  an  invisible,  Unconquer- 
able foe  lay  there  in  wait  for  the  European ;  and  the  air  was 
death. 

One  morning  (from  which  I  must  date  the  beginning  of 
my  ruinous  misfortune)  I  left  my  room  a  little  after  day, 
for  in  that  warm  climate  all  are  early  risers,  and  found  not 
a  servant  to  attend  upon  my  wants.  I  made  the  circuit  of 
the  house,  still  calling:  and  my  surprise  had  almost  changed 
into  alarm,  when  coming  at  last  into  a  large  verandaed  court, 
I  found  it  thronged  with  negroes.  Even  then,  even  when 
I  was  amongst  them,  not  one  turned  or  paid  the  least  regard 
to  my  arrival.  They  had  eyes  and  ears  for  but  one  person: 
a  woman  richly  and  tastefully  attired;  of  elegant  carriage, 
and  a  musical  speech ;  not  so  much  old  in  years,  as  worn 
and  marred  by  self-indulgence:  her  face,  which  was  still 
attractive,  stamped  with  the  most  cruel  passions,  her  eye 
burning  with  the  greed  of  evil.  It  was  not  from  her  appear- 
ance, I  believe,  but  from  some  emanation  of  her  soul,  that  I 
recoiled  in  a  kind  of  fainting  terror;  as  we  hear  of  plants 
that  bhght  and  snakes  that  fascinate,  the  woman  shocked 
and  daunted  me.  But  I  was  of  a  brave  nature;  trod  the 
weakness  down ;  and  forcing  my  way  through  the  slaves, 
who  fell  back  before  me  in  embarrassment,  as  though  in  the 
presence  of  rival  mistresses,  I  asked,  in  imperious  tones: 
**  Who  is  this  person?  " 

469 


THE   DYNAMITER 

A  girl  slave,  to  whom  I  had  been  kind,  whispered  in  my 
ear  to  have  a  care,  for  that  was  Madam  Mendizabal;  but 
the  name  was  new  to  me. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  woman,  applying  a  pair  of  glasses 
to  her  eyes,  studied  me  with  insolent  particularly  from  head 
to  foot. 

"  Young  woman,"  said  she,  at  last,  "  I  have  had  a  great 
experience  in  refractory  servants,  and  take  a  pride  in  break- 
ing them.  You  really  tempt  me;  and  if  I  had  not  other 
affairs,  and  these  of  more  importance,  on  my  hand,  I  should 
certainly  buy  you  at  your  father's  sale." 

"  Madam "  I  began,  but  my  voice  failed  me. 

"  Is  it  possible  that  you  do  not  know  your  position?  "  she 
returned  with  a  hateful  laugh.  "  How  comical !  Positively, 
I  must  buy  her.  Accomplishments,  I  suppose  .f^  "  she  added, 
turning  to  the  servants. 

Several  assured  her  that  the  young  mistress  had  been 
brought  up  like  any  lady,  for  so  it  seemed  in  their  inex- 
perience. 

"  She  would  do  very  well  for  my  place  of  business  In 
Havana,"  said  the  Senora  Mendizabal,  once  more  studying 
me  through  her  glasses ;  "  and  I  should  take  a  pleasure," 
she  pursued,  more  directly  addressing  myself,  "  in  bringing 
you  acquainted  with  a  whip."  And  she  smiled  at  me  with  a 
savory  lust  of  cruelty  upon  her  face. 

At  this  I  found  expression.  Calling  by  name  upon  the 
servants,  I  bade  them  turn  this  woman  from  the  house,  fetch 
her  to  the  boat,  and  set  her  back  upon  the  mainland.  But 
with  one  voice,  they  protested  that  they  durst  not  obey, 
coming  close  about  me,  pleading  and  beseeching  me  to  be 
more  wise;  and  when  I  insisted,  rising  higher  in  passion  and 
speaking  of  this  foul  intruder  in  the  terms  she  had  deserved, 
they  fell  back  from  me  as  from  one  who  had  blasphemed.  A 
superstitious  reverence  plainly  encircled  the  stranger ;  I  could 
read  it  in  their  changed  demeanor,  and  in  the  paleness  that 
prevailed  upon  the  natural  color  of  their  faces ;  and  their 
fear  perhaps  reacted  on  myself.  I  looked  again  at  Madam 
Mendizabal.     She  stood  perfectly  composed,  watching  my 

470 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

face  through  her  glasses  with  a  smile  of  scorn ;  and  at  the 
sight  of  her  assured  superiority  to  all  my  threats,  a  cry 
broke  from  my  lips,  a  cry  of  rage,  fear  and  despair,  and  I 
fled  from  the  veranda  and  the  house. 

I  ran  I  knew  not  where,  but  it  was  toward  the  beach.  As 
I  went,  my  head  whirled;  so  strange,  so  sudden,  were  these 
events  and  insults.  Who  was  she?  what  in  Heaven's  name 
was  the  power  she  wielded  over  my  obedient  negroes?  Why 
had  she  addressed  me  as  a  slave?  Why  spoken  of  my  father's 
sale?  To  all  these  tumultuary  questions  I  could  find  no 
answer ;  and  in  the  turmoil  of  my  mind,  nothing  was  plain 
except  the  hateful,  leering  image  of  the  woman. 

I  was  still  running,  mad  with  fear  and  anger,  when  I  saw 
my  father  coming  to  meet  me  from  the  landing-place ;  and 
with  a  cry  that  I  thought  would  have  killed  me,  leaped  into 
his  arms  and  broke  into  a  passion  of  sobs  and  tears  upon  his 
bosom.  He  made  me  sit  down  below  a  tall  palmetto  that 
grew  not  far  off,  comforted  me,  but  with  some  abstraction 
in  his  voice,  and  as  soon  as  I  regained  the  least  conunand 
upon  my  feelings,  asked  me,  not  without  harshness,  what  this 
grief  betokened.  I  was  surprised  by  his  tone  into  a  still 
greater  measure  of  composure;  and  in  firm  tones,  though 
still  interrupted  by  sobs,  I  told  him  there  was  a  stranger  in 
the  island,  at  which  I  thought  he  started  and  turned  pale; 
that  the  servants  would  not  obey  me;  that  the  stranger's 
name  was  Madam  Mendizabal,  and  at  that  he  seemed  to  me 
both  troubled  and  relieved;  that  she  had  insulted  me,  treated 
me  as  a  slave  (and  here  my  father's  brow  began  to  darken), 
threatened  to  buy  me  at  a  sale,  and  questioned  my  own 
servants  before  my  face;  and  that,  at  last,  finding  myself 
quite  helpless  and  exposed  to  these  intolerable  liberties,  I 
had  fled  from  the  house  in  terror,  indignation  and  amaze- 
ment. 

"  Teresa,"  said  my  father,  with  singular  gravity  of 
voice,  "  I  must  make  to-day  a  call  upon  your  courage ;  much 
must  be  told  you,  there  is  much  that  you  must  do  to  help  me ; 
and  my  daughter  must  prove  herself  a  woman  by  her  spirit. 
As  for  this  Mendizabal,  what  shall  I  say?  or  how  am  I  to 

471! 


THE   DYNAMITER 

tell  jou  what  she  is?  Twenty  years  ago,  she  was  the  love- 
liest of  slaves ;  to-day  she  is  what  you  see  her — prematurely' 
old,  disgraced  by  the  practice  of  every  vice  and  every  nefari- 
ous industry,  but  free,  rich,  married,  they  say,  to  some 
reputable  man,  whom  may  Heaven  assist !  and  exercising 
among  her  ancient  mates,  the  slaves  of  Cuba,  an  influence 
as  unbounded  as  its  reason  is  mysterious.  Horrible  rites,  it 
is  supposed,  cement  her  empire:  the  rites  of  Hoodoo.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  I  would  have  you  dismiss  the  thought  of  this 
incomparable  witch ;  it  is  not  from  her  that  danger  threatens 
us,  and  into  her  hands,  I  make  bold  to  promise,  you  shall 
never  fall." 

"  Father!  "  I  cried.  "  Fall?  Was  there  any  truth,  then, 
in  her  words?  Am  I — oh  father,  tell  me  plain;  I  can  bear 
anything  but  this  suspense." 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  he  replied,  "  with  merciful  bluntness. 
Your  mother  was  a  slave;  it  was  my  design,  so  soon  as  I 
had  saved  a  competence,  to  sail  to  the  free  land  of  Britain, 
where  the  law  would  suffer  me  to  marry  her:  a  design  too 
long  procrastinated;  for  death  at  the  last  moment  inter- 
vened. You  will  now  understand  the  heaviness  with  which 
your  mother's  memory  hangs  about  my  neck." 

I  cried  out  aloud,  in  pity  for  my  parents ;  and  in  seeking 
to  console  the  survivor,  I  forgot  myself. 

"  It  matters  not,"  resumed  my  father.  "  What  I  have 
left  undone  can  never  be  repaired,  and  I  must  bear  the 
penalty  of  my  remorse.  But,  Teresa,  with  so  cutting  a  re- 
minder of  the  evils  of  delay,  I  set  myself  at  once  to  do  what 
was  still  possible:  to  liberate  yourself." 

I  began  to  break  forth  in  thanks,  but  he  checked  me  with 
a  somber  roughness. 

"  Your  mother's  illness,"  he  resumed,  "  had  engaged  too 
great  a  portion  of  my  time ;  my  business  in  the  city  had  lain 
too  long  at  the  mercy  of  ignorant  underlings ;  my  head,  my 
taste,  my  unequaled  knowledge  of  the  more  precious  stones, 
that  art  by  which  I  can  distinguish,  even  on  the  darkest 
night,  a  sapphire  from  a  ruby,  and  tell  at  a  glance  in  what 
quarter  of  the  earth  a  gem  was  disinterred — all  these  had 

4.72 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

been  too  long  absent  from  the  conduct  of  affairs.  Teresa, 
I  was  insolvent." 

"What  matters  that.^"  I  cried.  ""What  matters  poverty, 
if  we  be  left  together  with  our  love  and  sacred  mem- 
ories ?  " 

"  You  do  not  comprehend,"  he  said  gloomily.  "  Slave, 
as  3^ou  are,  young — alas !  scarce  more  than  child ! — accom- 
plished, beautiful  with  the  most  touching  beauty,  innocent 
as  an  angel — all  these  qualities  that  should  disarm  the  very 
wolves  and  crocodiles,  are,  in  the  eyes  of  those  to  whom  I 
stand  indebted,  commodities  to  buy  and  sell.  You  are  a 
chattel ;  a  marketable  thing ;  and  worth — heavens,  that  I 
should  say  such  words ! — worth  money.  Do  you  begin  to 
see.''  If  I  were  to  give  you  freedom,  I  should  defraud  my 
creditors ;  the  manumission  would  be  certainly  annulled ;  you 
would  be  still  a  slave,  and  I  a  criminal." 

I  caught  his  hand  in  mine,  kissed  it,  and  moaned  In  pity 
for  myself,  in  sympathy  for  my  father. 

"  How  I  have  toiled,"  he  continued,  "  how  I  have  dared 
and  striven  to  repair  my  losses,  Heaven  has  beheld  and  will 
remember.  Its  blessing  was  denied  to  my  endeavors,  or,  as 
I  please  myself  by  thinking,  but  delayed  to  descend  upon  my 
daughter's  head.  At  length,  all  hope  was  at  an  end;  I  was 
ruined  beyond  retrieve;  a  heavy  debt  fell  due  upon  the  mor- 
row, which  I  could  not  meet ;  I  should  be  declared  a  bank- 
rupt, and  my  goods,  my  lands,  my  jewels  that  I  so  much 
loved,  my  slaves  whom  I  have  spoiled  and  rendered  happy, 
and  oh!  ten-fold  worse,  you,  my  beloved  daughter,  would  be 
sold  and  pass  into  the  hands  of  ignorant  and  greedy  traf- 
fickers. Too  long,  I  saw,  had  I  accepted  and  profited  by 
this  great  crime  of  slavery ;  but  was  my  daughter,  my  inno^ 
cent,  unsullied  daughter,  was  she  to  pay  the  price.'*  I  cried 
out — no ! — I  took  Heaven  to  witness  my  temptation ;  I 
caught  up  this  bag  and  fled.  Close  upon  my  track  are  tliQ 
pursuers ;  perhaps  to-morrow,  they  will  land  upon  this  isle, 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  dear  soul  that  bore  you,  to 
consign  your  father  to  an  ignominious  prison,  and  yourself 
to  slavery  and  dishonor.     We  have  not  many  hours  before 

473 


THE  DYNAMITER 

us.  Dff  the  north  coast  of  our  isle,  by  strange  good  fortune, 
an  English  yacht  has  for  some  days  been  hovering.  It  be- 
longs to  Sir  George  Greville,  whom  I  slightly  know,  to  whom 
ere  now  I  have  rendered  unusual  services,  and  who  will  not 
refuse  to  help  in  our  escape.  Or  if  he  did,  if  his  gratitude 
were  in  default,  I  have  the  power  to  force  him.  For  what 
does  it  mean,  my  child — what  means  this  Englishman,  who 
hangs  for  years  upon  the  shores  of  Cuba,  and  returns  from 
every  trip  with  new  and  valuable  gems !  " 

"  He  may  have  found  a  mine,"  I  hazarded. 

"  So  he  declares,"  returned  my  father ;  "  but  the  strange 
gift  I  have  received  from  nature,  easily  transpierced  the 
fable.  He  brought  me  diamonds  only,  which  I  bought,  at 
first,  in  innocence ;  at  a  second  glance,  I  started ;  for  of  these 
stones,  my  child,  some  had  first  seen  the  day  in  Africa,  some 
in  Brazil;  Avhile  others,  from  their  peculiar  water  and  rude 
workmanship,  I  divined  to  be  the  spoil  of  ancient  temples. 
Thus  put  upon  the  scent,  I  made  inquiries :  oh,  he  is  cunning, 
but  I  was  cunninger  than  he.  He  visited,  I  found,  the  shop 
of  every  jeweler  in  town;  to  one  he  came  with  rubies,  to  one 
with  emeralds,  to  one  with  precious  beryl;  to  all,  with  this 
same  story  of  the  mine.  But  in  what  mine,  what  rich  epitome 
of  the  earth's  surface,  were  there  conjoined  the  rubies  of 
Ispahan,  the  pearls  of  Coromandel  and  the  diamonds  of 
Golconda?  No,  child,  that  man,  for  all  his  yacht  and  title, 
that  man  must  fear  and  must  obey  me.  To-night,  then,  as 
soon  as  it  is  dark,  we  must  take  our  way  through  the  swamp 
by  the  path  which  I  shall  presently  show  you ;  thence,  across 
the  highlands  of  the  isle  a  track  is  blazed,  which  shall  con- 
duct us  to  the  haven  on  the  north;  and  close  by  the  yacht  is 
riding.  Should  my  pursuers  come  before  the  hour  at  which 
I  look  to  see  them,  they  will  still  arrive  too  late;  a  trusty 
man  attends  on  the  mainland;  as  soon  as  they  appear,  we 
shall  behold,  if  it  be  dark,  the  redness  of  a  fire,  if  it  be  day, 
a  pillar  of  smoke,  on  the  opposing  headland;  and  thus 
warned,  we  shall  have  time  to  put  the  swamp  between  our- 
selves and  danger.  Meantime,  I  would  conceal  this  bag;  I 
would,  before  all  things,  be  seen  to  arrive  at  the  house  with 

474 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

empty  hands ;  a  blabbing  slave  might  else  undo  us.  For 
see !  "  he  added ;  and  holding  up  the  bag,  which  he  had  al- 
ready shown  me,  he  poured  into  my  lap  a  shower  of  un- 
mounted jewels,  brighter  than  flowers,  of  every  size  and 
color,  and  catching,  as  they  fell,  upon  a  million  dainty 
facets,  the  ardor  of  the  sun. 

I  could  not  restrain  a  cry  of  admiration. 

"  Even  in  your  ignorant  eyes,"  pursued  my  father,  "  they 
command  respect.  Yet  what  are  they  but  pebbles,  passive 
to  the  tool,  cold  as  death?  Ingrate!  "  he  cried.  "  Each  one 
of  these — miracles  of  nature's  patience,  conceived  out  of  the 
dust  in  centuries  of  microscopical  activity,  each  one  is,  for 
you  and  me,  a  year  of  life,  liberty  and  mutual  affection. 
How,  then,  should  I  cherish  them.''  and  why  do  I  delay  to 
place  them  beyond  reach.''     Teresa,  follow  me." 

He  rose  to  his  feet  and  led  me  to  the  borders  of  the  great 
jungle,  where  they  overhung,  in  a  wall  of  poisonous  and 
dusky  foliage,  the  declivity  of  the  hill  on  which  my  father's 
house  stood  planted.  For  some  while  he  skirted,  with  atten- 
tive eyes,  the  miargin  of  the  thicket.  Then,  seeming  to 
recognize  some  mark,  for  his  countenance  became  immedi- 
ately lightened  of  thought,  he  paused  and  addressed  me. 

"  Here,"  said  he,  "  is  the  entrance  of  the  secret  path  that 
I  have  mentioned,  and  here  you  shall  await  me.  I  but  pass 
some  hundreds  of  yards  into  the  swamp  to  bury  my  poor 
treasure ;  as  soon  as  that  is  safe,  I  will  return." 

It  was  in  vain  that  I  sought  to  dissuade  him,  urging  the 
dangers  of  the  place;  in  vain  that  I  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
follow,  pleading  the  black  blood  that  I  now  knew  to  circulate 
in  my  veins.  To  all  my  appeals  he  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and, 
bending  back  a  portion  of  the  screen  of  bushes,  disappeared 
into  the  pestilential  silence  of  the  swamp. 

At  the  end  of  a  full  hour  the  bushes  were  once  more  thrust 
aside,  and  my  father  stepped  from  out  the  thicket  and 
paused  and  almost  staggered  in  the  first  shock  of  the  blind- 
ing sunlight.  His  face  was  of  a  singular  dusky  red ;  and  yet 
for  all  the  heat  of  the  tropical  noon,  he  did  not  seem  to 
sweat. 

475 


THE  DYNAMITER 

"  You  are  tired,"  I  cried,  springing  to  meet  him.  **  You 
are  ill." 

"I  am  tired,"  he  replied;  "the  air  in  that  jungle  stifles 
one;  my  eyes,  besides,  have  grown  accustomed  to  its  gloom, 
and  the  strong  sunshine  pierces  them  like  knives.  A  moment, 
Teresa,  give  me  but  a  moment.  All  shall  yet  be  well.  I 
have  buried  the  hoard  under  a  cypress,  immediately  beyond 
the  bayou,  on  the  left  hand  margin  of  the  path;  beautiful, 
bright  things,  they  now  lie  whelmed  in  slime;  you  shall  find 
them  there,  if  needfuL  But  come,  let  us  to  the  house;  it 
is  time  to  eat  against  our  journey  of  the  night;  to  eat  and 
then  to  sleep,  my  poor  Teresa;  then  to  sleep."  And  he 
looked  upon  me  out  of  bloodshot  eyes,  shaking  his  head  as 
if  in  pity. 

We  went  hurriedly,  for  he  kept  murmuring  that  he  had 
been  gone  too  long  and  that  the  servants  might  suspect; 
passed  through  the  airy  stretch  of  the  veranda,  and  came 
at  length  into  the  grateful  twilight  of  the  shuttered  house. 
The  meal  was  spread;  the  house  servants,  already  informed 
by  the  boatmen  of  the  master's  return,  were  all  back  at  their 
posts,  and  terrified,  as  I  could  see,  to  face  me.  My  father 
still  murmuring  of  haste  with  weary  and  feverish  perti- 
nacity, I  hurried  at  once  to  ta.ke  my  place  at  table ;  but  I 
had  no  sooner  left  his  arm  than  he  paused  and  thrust  forth 
both  his  hands  with  a  strange  gesture  of  groping.  "  How 
is  this.?"  he  cried,  in  a  sharp,  inhuman  voice.  "Am  I 
blind.?"  I  ran  to  him  and  tried  to  lead  him  to  the  table; 
but  he  resisted  and  stood  stiffly  where  he  was,  opening  and 
shutting  his  jaws,  as  if  in  a  painful  effort  after  breath. 
Then  suddenly  he  raised  both  hands  to  his  temples,  cried 
out,  "  My  head,  my  head ! "  and  reeled  and  fell  against  the 
wall. 

I  knew  too  well  what  it  must  be.  I  turned  and  begged  the 
servants  to  relieve  him.  But  they,  with  one  accord,  denied 
the  possibility  of  hope ;  the  master  had  gone  into  the  swamp, 
they  said,  the  master  must  die;  all  help  was  idle.  Why 
should  I  dwell  upon  his  sufferings.?  I  had  him  carried  to  a 
bed,   and  watched  beside  him.      He  lay  still,   and  at  times 

476 


THE   FAIR   CUBAN 

ground  his  teeth,  and  talked  at  times  unintelligibly,  only 
that  one  word  of  hurry,  hurry,  coming  distinctly  to  my  ears, 
and  telling  me  that,  even  in  the  last  struggle  with  the  powers 
of  death,  his  mind  was  still  tortured  by  his  daughter's  peril. 
The  sun  had  gone  down,  the  darkness  had  fallen,  when  I  per- 
ceived that  I  was  alone  on  this  unhappy  earth.  What 
thought  had  I  of  flight,  of  safety,  of  the  impending  dangers 
of  my  situation?  Beside  the  body  of  my  last  friend,  I  had 
forgotten  all  except  the  natural  pangs  of  my  bereavement. 

The  sun  was  some  four  hours  above  the  eastern  line, 
when  I  was  called  to  a  knowledge  of  things  of  earth,  by 
the  entrance  of  the  slave-girl  to  whom  I  have  already  re- 
ferred. The  poor  soul  was  indeed  devotedly  attached  to 
me;  and  it  was  with  streaming  tears  that  she  broke  to  me 
the  import  of  her  coming.  With  the  first  light  of  dawn  a 
boat  had  reached  our  landing-place,  and  set  on  shore  upon 
our  isle  (till  now  so  fortunate)  a  party  of  officers  bearing 
a  warrant  to  arrest  my  father's  person,  and  a  man  of  a 
gross  body  and  low  manners,  who  declared  the  island,  the 
plantation  and  all  its  human  chattels,  to  be  now  his  own. 
"  I  think,"  said  my  slave  girl,  "  he  must  be  a  politician  or 
some  very  powerful  sorcerer;  for  JMadam  Mendizabal  had 
no  sooner  seen  them  coming,  than  she  took  to  the  woods." 

"  Fool,"  said  I,  "  it  was  the  officers  she  feared ;  and  at  any 
rate  why  does  that  beldam  still  dare  to  pollute  the  island 
with  her  presence.''  And  oh,  Cora,"  I  exclaimed,  remember- 
ing my  grief,  "  what  matter  all  these  troubles  to  an 
orphan.?  " 

"  INIistress,"  said  she,  "  I  must  remind  3'ou  of  two  things. 
Never  speak  as  you  do  now  of  Madam  Mendizabal ;  or  never 
to  a  person  of  color;  for  she  is  the  most  powerful  woman 
in  this  world,  and  her  real  name  even,  if  one  durst  pronounce 
it,  were  a  spell  to  raise  the  dead.  And  whatever  jou  do, 
speak  no  more  of  her  to  your  unhappy  Cora ;  for  though  it 
is  possible  she  may  be  afraid  of  the  police  (and  indeed  I 
think  that  I  have  heard  that  she  is  in  hiding)  and  though  I 
know  that  3'ou  will  laugh  and  not  believe,  3'et  it  is  true,  and 
proved,  and  known  that  she  hears  every  word  that  people 

477 


THE   DYNAMITER 

utter  in  this  whole,  vast  world ;  and  your  poor  Cora  is 
already  deep  enough  in  her  black  books.  She  looks  at  me, 
mistress,  till  my  blood  turns  ice.  That  is  the  first  I  had  to 
say;  and  now  for  the  second:  do,  pray,  for  Heaven's  sake, 
bear  in  mind  that  you  are  no  longer  the  poor  Senor's  daugh- 
ter. He  is  gone,  dear  gentleman ;  and  now  you  are  no 
more  than  a  common  slave-girl  like  myself.  The  man  to 
whom  you  belong  calls  for  you;  oh,  my  dear  mistress,  go 
at  once!  With  your  youth  and  beauty,  you  may  still,  if 
you  are  winning  and  obedient,  secure  yourself  an  easy 
life." 

For  a  moment  I  looked  on  the  creature  with  the  indigna- 
tion you  may  conceive;  the  next  it  was  gone:  she  did  but 
speak  after  her  kind,  as  the  bird  sings  or  cattle  bellow. 
"  Go,"  said  I.  "  Go,  Cora."  I  thank  you  for  your  kind 
intentions.  Leave  me  alone  one  moment  with  my  dead 
father;  and  tell  this  man  that  I  will  come  at  once." 

She  went;  and  I,  turning  to  the  bed  of  death,  addressed 
to  those  deaf  ears  the  last  appeal  and  defence  of  my  be- 
leaguered innocence.  "  Father,"  I  said,  "  it  was  your  last 
thought,  even  in  the  pangs  of  dissolution,  that  your  daugh- 
ter should  escape  disgrace.  Here,  at  your  side,  I  swear  to 
you  that  purpose  shall  be  carried  out;  by  what  means,  I 
know  not ;  by  crime,  if  need  be ;  and  Heaven  forgive  both  you 
and  me  and  our  oppressors,  and  Heaven  help  my  helpless- 
ness !  "  Thereupon  I  felt  strengthened  as  by  long  repose ; 
stepped  to  the  mirror,  ay,  even  in  that  chamber  of  the  dead ; 
hastily  arranged  my  hair,  refreshed  my  tear-worn  eyes, 
breathed  a  dumb  farewell  to  the  originator  of  my  days  and 
sorrows;  and  composing  my  features  to  a  smile,  went  forth 
to  meet  my  master. 

He  was  in  a  great,  hot  bustle,  reviewing  that  house,  once 
ours,  to  which  he  had  but  now  succeeded;  a  corpulent,  san- 
guine man  of  middle  age,  sensual,  vulgar,  humorous,  and, 
if  I  judged  rightly,  not  ill-disposed  by  nature.  But  the 
sparkle  that  came  into  his  eye  as  he  observed  me  enter, 
warned  me  to  expect  the  worst. 

"  Is  this  youff  late  mistress .''  "  he  inquired  of  the  slaves ; 

478 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

and  when  he  had  learned  it  was  so,  instantly  dismissed  them. 
"  Now,  my  dear,"  said  he,  "  I  am  a  plain  man :  none  of  j^our 
damned  Spaniards,  but  a  true  blue,  hard-working,  honest 
Enghshman.    My  name  is  Caulder." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  I,  and  courtesied  very  smartly 
as  I  had  seen  the  servants. 

"  Come,"  said  he,  "  this  is  better  than  I  had  expected ; 
and  if  you  choose  to  be  dutiful  in  the  station  to  which  it  has 
pleased  God  to  call  you,  you  will  find  me  a  very  kind  old  fel- 
low. I  like  your  looks,"  he  added,  calling  me  by  my  name, 
which  he  scandalously  mispronounced.  "  Is  your  hair  all 
your  own?  "  he  then  inquired  with  a  certain  sharpness,  and 
coming  up  to  me,  as  though  I  were  a  horse,  he  grossly  satis- 
fied his  doubts.  I  was  all  one  flame  from  head  to  foot,  but 
I  contained  my  righteous  anger  and  submitted.  "  That  is 
very  well,"  he  continued,  chucking  me  good-humoredly  under 
the  chin.  "  You  will  have  no  cause  to  regret  coming  to  old 
Caulder,  eh.''  But  that  is  by  the  way.  What  is  more  to 
the  point  is  this:  your  late  master  was  a  most  dishonest 
rogue  and  levanted  with  some  valuable  property  that  be- 
longed of  rights  to  me.  Now,  considering  your  relation  to 
him,  I  regard  you  as  the  likeliest  person  to  know  what  has 
become  of  it ;  and  I  warn  you,  before  you  answer,  that  my 
whole  future  kindness  will  depend  upon  your  honesty.  I 
am  an  honest  man  myself,  and  expect  the  same  in  my  serv- 
ants." 

"  Do  you  mean  the  jewels?  "  said  I,  sinking  my  voice  into 
a  whisper. 

"  That  is  just  precisely  what  I  do,"  said  he,  and  chuckled. 

"HWi!"  said  I. 

"Hush?"  he  repeated,  "And  why  hush?  I  am  on  my 
own  place,  I  would  have  you  to  know,  and  surrounded  by  my 
own  lawful  servants." 

"  Are  the  officers  gone?  "  I  asked;  and  oh,  how  my  hopes 
hung  upon  the  answer! 

"  They  are,"  said  he,  looking  somewhat  disconcerted. 
"  Why  do  you  ask?  " 

"  I  wish  you  had  kept  them,"  I  answered,  solemnly  enough, 

479 


THE   DYNAMITER 

although  my  heart  at  that  same  moment  leaped  with  exulta- 
tion. "  Master,  I  must  not  conceal  from  you  the  truth. 
The  servants  on  this  estate  are  in  a  dangerous  condition, 
and  mutiny  has  long  been  brewing." 

"  Why,"  he  cried,  "  I  never  saw  a  milder-looking"  lot  of 
niggers  in  my  life."  But  for  all  that  he  turned  somewhat 
pale. 

"  Did  they  tell  you,"  I  continued,  "  that  Madam  Mendi- 
zabal  is  on  the  island?  that,  since  her  coming,  they  obey  none 
but  her.?  that  if,  this  morning,  they  have  received  you  with 
even  decent  civility,  it  was  only  by  her  orders — issued  with 
what  after-thought  I  leave  you  to  consider  "^  " 

"Madam  Jezebel?"  said  he.  "Well,  she  is  a  dangerous 
devil;  the  police  arc  after  her,  besides,  for  a  whole  series 
of  murders ;  but  after  all,  Avhat  then  ?  To  be  sure,  she  has 
a  great  influence  with  you  colored  folk.  But  what  in  for- 
tune's name  can  be  her  errand  here?  " 

"  The  jewels,"  I  replied.  "  Ah,  sir,  had  you  seen  that 
treasure,  sapphire  and  emerald  and  opal,  and  the  golden 
topaz,  and  rubies,  red  as  the  sunset — of  what  incalculable 
worth,  of  what  unequaled  beauty  to  the  eye ! — had  you  seen 
it,  as  I  have,  and  alas !  as  slie  has — ^you  would  understand 
and  tremble  at  your  danger." 

"  She  has  seen  them !  "  he  cried,  and  I  could  see  by  his 
face,  that  my  audacity  was  justified  by  its  success. 

I  caught  his  hand  in  mine.  "  My  master,"  said  I,  "  I 
am  now  yours ;  it  is  my  duty,  it  should  be  my  pleasure,  to 
defend  your  interests  and  life.  Hear  my  advice  then ;  and  I 
conjure  you,  be  guided  by  prudence.  Follow  me  privily ; 
let  none  see  where  we  are  going ;  I  will  lead  you  to  the  place 
where  the  treasure  has  been  buried ;  that  once  disinterred,  let 
us  make  straight  for  the  boat,  escape  to  the  mainland,  and 
not  return  to  this  dangerous  isle  without  the  countenance 
of  soldiers." 

What  free  man  in  a  free  land,  would  have  credited  so 
sudden  a  devotion?  But  this  oppressor,  through  the  very 
arts  and  sophistries  he  had  abused,  to  quiet  the  rebellion  of 
his  conscience  and  to  convince  himself  that  slavery  was  natu- 

480 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

ral,  fell  like  a  child  into  the  trap  I  laid  for  him.  He  praised 
and  thanked  me;  told  me  I  had  all  the  qualities  he  valued 
in  a  servant ;  and  when  he  had  questioned  me  further  as  to 
the  nature  and  value  of  the  treasure,  and  I  had  once  more 
artfully  inflamed  his  greed,  bade  me  without  delay  proceed 
to  carry  out  my  plan  of  action. 

From  a  shed  in  the  garden,  I  took  a  pick  and  a  shovel; 
and  thence,  by  devious  paths  among  the  magnolias,  led  my 
master  to  the  entrance  of  the  swamp.  I  walked  first,  car- 
rying, as  I  was  now  in  duty  bound,  the  tools,  and  glancing 
continually  behind  me,  lest  we  should  be  spied  upon  and 
followed.  When  we  were  come  as  far  as  the  beginning  of 
the  path,  it  flashed  into  my  mind  I  had  forgotten  meat ; 
and  leaving  Mr.  Caulder  in  the  shadow  of  a  tree,  I  returned 
alone  to  the  house  for  a  basket  of  provisions.  Were  they 
for  him?  I  asked  myself.  And  a  voice  within  me  answered, 
No.  While  we  were  face  to  face,  while  I  still  saw  before  my 
eyes  the  man  to  whom  I  belonged  as  the  hand  belongs  to  the 
body,  my  indignation  held  me  bravely  up.  But  now  that  I 
was  alone,  I  conceived  a  sickness  at  myself  and  my  designs 
that  I  could  scarce  endure;  I  longed  to  throw  myself  at  his 
feet,  avow  my  intended  treachery,  and  warn  him  from  that 
pestilential  swamp,  to  which  I  Avas  decoying  him  to  die;  but 
my  vow  to  my  dead  father,  my  duty  to  my  innocent  youth, 
prevailed  against  these  scruples ;  and  though  my  face  was 
pale  and  must  have  reflected  the  horror  that  oppressed  my 
spirits,  it  was  with  a  firm  step  that  I  returned  to  the  borders 
of  the  swamp,  and  with  smiling  hps  bade  liim  rise  and  fol- 
low me. 

The  path  on  which  we  now  entered  was  cut  like  a  tunnel, 
through  the  living  jungle.  On  either  hand  and  overhead, 
the  mass  of  foliage  was  continuously  joined;  the  da}^  spar- 
ingly filtered  through  the  depth  of  super-impending  wood; 
and  the  air  was  hot  like  steam,  and  heavy  with  vegetable 
odors,  and  lay  hke  a  load  upon  the  lungs  and  brain.  Under 
foot,  a  great  depth  of  mold  received  our  silent  footprints ; 
on  each  side  mimosas,  as  tall  as  a  man,  shrank  from  my  pass- 
ing skirts  with  a  continuous  hissing  rustle ;  and  but  for  these 

481 


THE   DYNAMITER 

sentient  vegetables,  all  in  that  den  of  pestilence  was  motion* 
less  and  noiseless. 

We  had  gone  but  a  little  way  in,  when  Mr.  Caulder  was 
seized  with  sudden  nausea,  and  must  sit  down  a  moment  on 
the  path.  My  heart  yearned,  as  I  beheld  him;  and  I  seri- 
ously begged  the  doomed  mortal  to  return  upon  his  steps. 
What  were  a  few  jewels  in  the  scales  with  life?  I  asked.  But 
no,  he  said ;  that  witch  Madam  Jezebel  would  find  them  out ; 
he  was  an  honest  man,  and  would  not  stand  to  be  defrauded, 
and  so  forth,  panting,  the  while,  like  a  sick  dog.  Presently 
he  got  to  his  feet  again,  protesting  he  had  conquered  his 
uneasiness ;  but  as  we  again  began  to  go  forward,  I  saw  in 
liis  changed  countenance  the  first  approach  of  death. 

"  Master,"  said  I,  "  you  look  pale,  deathly  pale ;  your 
pallor  fills  me  with  dread.  Your  eyes  are  bloodshot;  they 
are  red  like  the  rubies  that  we  seek." 

"  Wench,"  he  cried,  "  look  before  you ;  look  at  your  steps. 
I  declare  to  Heaven,  if  you  annoy  me  once  again  by  look- 
ing back,  I  shall  remind  you  of  the  change  in  your  position." 

A  little  after,  I  observed  a  worm  upon  the  ground,  and 
told,  in  a  whisper,  that  its  touch  was  death.  Presently  a 
great  green  serpent,  vivid  as  the  grass  in  spring,  wound 
rapidly  across  the  path ;  and  once  again  I  paused  and  looked 
back  at  my  companion  with  a  horror  in  my  eyes.  "  The 
coffin  snake,"  said  I,  "  the  snake  that  dogs  its  victim  like  a 
hound." 

But  he  was  not  to  be  dissuaded.  "  I  am  an  old  traveler," 
said  he.  "This  is  a  foul  jungle  indeed;  but  we  shall  soon 
be  at  an  end." 

"  Ay,"  said  I,  looking  at  him  with  a  strange  smile,  "  what 
end.?" 

Thereupon  he  laughed  again  and  again,  but  not  very 
heartily ;  and  then,  perceiving  that  the  path  began  to  widen 
and  grow  higher,  "  There !  "  said  he.  "  What  did  I  tell  you.? 
We  are  past  the  worst." 

Indeed,  we  had  now  come  to  the  bayou,  which  was  in  that 
place  very  narrow  and  bridged  across  by  a  fallen  trunk; 
but  on  either  hand  we  could  see  it  broaden  out,  under  a  cav- 

482 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

cm  of  great  arms  of  trees  and  hanging  creepers ;  sluggish, 
putrid,  of  a  horrible  and  sickly  stench,  floated  on  by  the  flat 
heads  of  alligators,  and  its  banks  alive  with  scarlet  crabs. 

"  If  we  fall  from  that  unsteady  bridge,"  said  I,  "  see, 
where  the  cayman  lies  ready  to  devour  us !  If,  by  the  least 
divergence  from  the  path,  we  should  be  snared  in  a  morass^ 
see,  where  those  myriads  of  scarlet  vermin  scour  the  border 
of  the  thicket!  Once  helpless,  how  they  would  swarm  to- 
gether to  the  assault !  What  could  a  man  do  against  a 
thousand  of  such  mailed  assailants?  And  what  a  death  were 
that,  to  perish  alive  under  their  claws !  " 

"  Are  you  mad,  girl?  "  he  cried.  "  I  bid  you  be  silent  and 
lead  on." 

Again  I  looked  upon  him,  half  relenting;  and  at  that  he 
raised  the  stick  that  was  in  his  hand  and  cruelly  struck  me 
on  the  face.  "  Lead  on !  "  he  cried  again.  "  Must  I  be  all 
day,  catching  my  death  in  this  vile  slough,  and  all  for  a 
prating  slave-girl?  " 

I  took  the  blow  in  silence,  I  took  it  smiling ;  but  the  blood 
welled  back  upon  my  heart.  Something,  I  know  not  what, 
fell  at  that  moment  with  a  dull  plunge  in  the  waters  of  the 
lagoon,  and  I  told  myself  that  it  was  my  pity  that  had 
fallen. 

On  the  further  side,  to  which  we  now  hastily  scrambled, 
the  wood  was  not  so  dense,  the  web  of  creepers  not  so  solidly 
convolved.  It  was  possible,  here  and  there,  to  mark  a  patch 
of  somewhat  brighter  daylight,  or  to  distinguish,  through 
the  hghter  web  of  parasites,  the  proportions  of  some  soaring 
tree.  The  cypress  on  the  left  stood  very  visibly  forth  upon 
the  edge  of  such  a  clearing;  the  path  in  that  place  widened 
broadly ;  and  there  was  a  patch  of  open  ground,  beset  with 
horrible  ant-heaps,  thick  with  their  artificers.  I  laid  down 
the  tools  and  basket  by  the  cypress  root,  where  they  were 
instantly  blackened  over  with  the  crawling  ants ;  and  looked 
once  more  in  the  face  of  my  unconscious  victim.  Mosquitoes 
and  foul  flies  wove  so  close  a  veil  between  us  that  his  features 
were  obscured;  and  the  sound  of  their  flight  was  like  the 
turning  of  a  mighty  wheel. 

48S 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  Here,"  I  said,  "  Is  the  spot.  I  cannot  dig,  for  I  have 
not  learned  to  use  such  instruments ;  but,  for  your  own  sake, 
I  beseech  jou  to  be  swift  in  what  you  do." 

He  had  sunk  once  more  upon  the  ground,  panting  hke  a 
fish ;  and  I  saw  rising  in  his  face  the  same  dusky  flush  that 
had  mantled  on  my  father's.  "  I  feel  ill,"  he  gasped,  "  hor- 
ribly ill ;  the  swamp  turns  around  me ;  the  drone  of  these 
carrion  flies  confounds  me.     Have  you  not  wine?  " 

I  gave  him  a  glass,  and  he  drank  greedily.  "  It  is  for 
you  to  think,"  said  I,  "  if  you  should  further  persevere. 
The  swamp  has  an  ill  name."  And  at  the  word  I  ominously 
nodded. 

"Give  me  the  pick,"  said  he.  "Where  are  the  jewels 
buried?  " 

I  told  him  vaguely;  and  in  the  sweltering  heat  and  close- 
ness, and  dim  twilight  of  the  jungle,  he  began  to  wield  the 
pickax,  swinging  it  overhead  with  the  vigor  of  a  healthy  man. 
At  first,  there  broke  forth  upon  him  a  strong  sweat,  that 
made  his  face  to  shine,  and  in  which  the  greedy  insects 
settled  thickly.  "  To  sweat  in  such  a  place,"  said  I.  " "  Oh, 
master,  is  this  wise?    Fever  is  drunk  in  through  open  pores." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  he  screamed,  pausing  with  the 
pick  buried  in  the  soil.  "Do  you  seek  to  drive  me  mad? 
Do  you  think  I  do  not  understand  the  danger  that  I  run?  " 

"  That  is  all  I  want,"  said  I ;  "  I  only  wish  you  to  be 
swift."  And  then,  my  mind  flitting  to  my  father's  death- 
bed, I  began  to  murmur,  scarce  above  my  breath,  the  same 
vain  repetition  of  words,  Hurry,  hurry,  hurry. 

Presently,  to  my  surprise,  the  treasure-seeker  took  them 
up ;  and  while  he  still  wielded  the  pick,  but  now  with  stag- 
gering and  uncei'tain  blows,  repeated  to  liimself,  as  it  were 
the  burden  of  a  song,  "  Hurry,  hurry,  hurry ;  "  and  then 
again,  "  There  is  no  time  to  lose ;  the  marsh  has  an  ill  name, 
ill  name ;  "  and  then  back  to  "  Hurry,  hurry,  hurry,"  with 
a  dreadful,  mechanical,  hurried  and  yet  wearied  utterance, 
as  a  sick  man  rolls  upon  liis  pillow.  The  sweat  had  dis- 
appeared ;  he  was  now  dry,  but  all  that  I  could  see  of  him, 
of  the  same  dull  brick  red.    Presently  his  pick  unearthed  the 

484! 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

bag  of  j  ewels ;  but  he  did  not  observe  It,  and  continued 
hewing  the  soil. 

"  Master,"  said  I,  "  there  is  the  treasure." 

He  seemed  to  waken  from  a  dream.  "  Where  ?  "  he  cried ; 
and  then,  seeing  it  before  his  eyes,  "  Can  this  be  possible?  " 
he  added.  "  I  must  be  light-headed.  Girl,"  he  cried  sud- 
denly, with  the  same  screaming  tone  of  voice  that  I  had  once 
before  observed,  "what  is  wrong?  is  this  swamp  accursed?  " 

"  It  Is  a  grave,"  I  answered.  "  You  will  not  go  out  alive ; 
and  as  for  me,  my  life  is  in  God's  hands." 

He  fell  upon  the  ground  like  a  man  struck  by  a  blow, 
but  whether  from  the  effect  of  my  words,  or  from  sudden 
seizure  of  the  malady,  I  can  not  tell.  Pretty  soon,  he 
raised  his  head.  "  You  have  brought  me  here  to  die,"  he 
said ;  "  at  the  risk  of  your  own  days,  you  have  condemned 
me.     Why?" 

"  To  save  my  honor,"  I  replied.  "  Bear  me  out  that  I 
have  warned  you.  Greed  of  these  pebbles,  and  not  I,  has 
been  your  undoer." 

He  took  out  his  revolver  and  handed  it  to  me.  "  You 
see,"  he  said,  "  I  could  have  killed  you  even  yet.  But  I  am 
dying,  as  you  say ;  nothing  could  save  me ;  and  my  bill  Is 
long  enough  already.  Dear  me,  dear  me,"  he  said,  looking 
In  my  face  with  a  curious,  puzzled  and  pathetic  look,  like 
a  dull  child  at  school,  "  if  there  be  a  judgment  afterwards, 
my  bill  is  long  enough." 

At  that,  I  broke  into  a  passion  of  weeping,  crawled  at  his 
feet,  kissed  his  hands,  begged  his  forgiveness,  put  the  pis- 
tol back  into  his  grasp  and  besought  him  to  avenge  his 
death;  for  indeed,  if  with  my  life  I  could  have  brought 
back  his,  I  had  not  balanced  at  the  cost.  But  he  was  de- 
termined, the  poor  soul,  that  I  should  yet  more  bitterly  re- 
gret my  act. 

"  I  have  nothing  to  forgive,"  said  he.  "  Dear  heaven, 
what  a  thing  is  an  old  fool !  I  thought,  upon  my  word,  you 
had  taken  quite  a  fancy  to  me." 

He  was  seized,  at  the  same  time,  with  a  dreadful,  swim- 
ming dizziness,  clung  to  me  like  a  child,  and  called  upon  the 

485 


THE   DYNAMITER 

name  of  some  woman.  Presently  this  spasm,  which  I  watched 
with  choking  tears,  lessened  and  died  away;  and  he  came 
again  to  the  full  possession  of  his  mind.  "  I  must  write 
my  will,"  he  said.  "  Get  out  my  pocket-book."  I  did  so,  and 
he  wrote  hurriedly  on  one  page  with  a  pencil.  "  Do  not 
let  my  son  know,"  he  said,  "  he  is  a  cruel  dog,  is  my  son 
Philip ;  do  not  let  him  know  how  you  have  paid  me  out ; " 
and  then  all  of  a  sudden,  "  God,"  he  cried,  "  I  am  blind," 
and  clapped  both  hands  before  his  eyes;  and  then  again, 
and  in  a  groaning  whisper,  "  Don't  leave  me  to  the  crabs !  " 
I  swore  I  would  be  true  to  him  so  long  as  a  pulse  stirred; 
and  I  redeemed  my  promise.  I  sat  there  and  watched  him, 
as  I  had  watched  my  father,  but  with  what  different,  with 
what  appalling  thoughts!  Through  the  long  afternoon  he 
gradually  sank.  All  that  while,  I  fought  an  uphill  battle 
to  shield  him  from  the  swarms  of  ants  and  the  cloud  of 
mosquitoes:  the  prisoner  of  my  crime.  The  night  fell,  the 
roar  of  insects  instantly  redoubled  in  the  dark  arcades  of 
the  swamp ;  and  still  I  was  not  sure  that  he  had  breathed  his 
last.  At  length,  the  flesh  of  his  hand,  which  I  yet  held  in 
mine,  grew  chill  between  my  fingers,  and  I  knew  that  I  was 
free. 

I  took  his  pocket-book  and  the  revolver,  being  resolved 
rather  to  die  than  to  be  captured,  and  laden  besides  with  the 
basket  and  the  bag  of  gems,  set  forward  towards  the  north. 
The  swamp,  at  that  hour  of  the  night,  was  filled  with  a 
continuous  din:  animals  and  insects  of  all  kinds,  and  all 
inimical  to  hfe,  contributing  their  parts.  Yet  in  the  midst 
of  this  turmoil  of  sound,  I  walked  as  though  my  eyes  were 
bandaged,  beholding  nothing.  The  soil  sank  under  my  foot, 
with  a  horrid,  slippery  consistence,  as  though  I  were  walk- 
ing among  toads ;  the  touch  of  the  thick  wall  of  foliage,  by 
which  alone  I  guided  myself,  affrighted  me  like  the  touch 
of  serpents;  the  darkness  checked  my  breathing  like  a  gag; 
indeed,  I  have  never  suffered  such  extremes  of  fear  as  dur- 
ing that  nocturnal  walk,  nor  have  I  ever  known  a  more 
sensible  relief  than  when  I  found  the  path  beginning  to 
mount  and  to  grow  firmer  under  foot,  and  saw,  although 

486 


THE   FAIR   CUBAN 

still  some  way  in  front  of  me,  the  silver  brightness  of  the 
moon. 

Presently,  I  had  crossed  the  last  of  the  jungle,  and  come 
forth  amongst  noble  and  lofty  woods,  clean  rock,  the  clean, 
dry  dust,  the  aromatic  smell  of  mountain  plants  that  had 
been  baked  all  day  in  sunlight,  and  the  expressive  silence  of 
the  night.  My  negro  blood  had  carried  me  unhurt  across 
that  reeking  and  pestiferous  morass ;  by  mere  good  fortune, 
I  had  escaped  the  crawling  and  stinging  vermin  with  which 
it  was  alive;  and  I  had  now  before  me  the  easier  portion  of 
my  enterprise,  to  cross  the  isle  and  to  make  good  my  arrival 
at  the  haven  and  my  acceptance  on  the  English  yacht.  It 
was  impossible  by  night  to  follow  such  a  track  as  my  father 
had  described;  and  I  was  casting  about  for  any  landmark, 
and,  in  my  ignorance,  vainly  consulting  the  disposition  of 
the  stars,  when  there  fell  upon  my  ear,  from  somewhere  far 
in  front,  the  sound  of  many  voices  hurriedly  singing. 

I  scarce  knew  upon  what  grounds  I  acted;  but  I  shaped 
my  steps  in  the  direction  of  that  sound ;  and  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour's  walking,  came  unperceived  to  the  margin  of  an 
open  glade.  It  was  lighted  by  the  strong  moon  and  by  the 
flames  of  a  fire.  In  the  midst,  there  stood  a  little  low  and 
rude  building,  surmounted  by  a  cross:  a  chapel,  as  I  then 
remembered  to  have  heard,  long  since  desecrated  and  given 
over  to  the  rites  of  Hoodoo.  Hard  by  the  steps  of  entrance 
was  a  black  mass,  continually  agitated  and  stirring  to  and 
fro  as  if  with  inarticulate  hfe;  and  this  I  presently  per- 
ceived to  be  a  heap  of  cocks,  hares,  dogs  and  other  birds 
and  animals,  still  struggling,  but  helplessly  tethered  and 
cruelly  tossed  one  upon  another.  Both  the  fire  and  the 
chapel  were  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  kneeling  Africans,  both 
men  and  women.  Now  they  would  raise  their  palms  half- 
closed  to  heaven,  with  a  peculiar,  passionate  gesture  of 
supplication ;  now  they  would  bow  their  heads  and  spread 
their  hands  before  them  on  the  ground.  As  the  double  move- 
ment passed  and  repassed  along  the  line,  the  heads  kept 
rising  and  falling,  like  waves  upon  the  sea ;  and  still,  as  if 
in  time  to  these  gesticulations,  the  hurried  chant  continued. 


THE  DYNi^IITER 

I  stood  spell-boimd,  knowing  that  my  life  depended  by  a 
hair,  knowing  that  I  had  stumbled  on  a  celebration  of  the 
rites  of  Hoodoo. 

Presently,  the  door  of  the  chapel  opened  and  there  came 
forth  a  tall  negro,  entirely  nude,  and  bearing  in  his  hand  the 
sacrificial  knife.  He  was  followed  by  an  apparition  still 
more  strange  and  shocking :  Madam  Mendizabal,  naked  also, 
and  carrying  in  both  hands  and  raised  to  the  level  of  her 
face,  an  open  basket  of  wicker.  It  was  filled  with  coiling 
snakes ;  and  these,  as  she  stood  there  with  the  uplifted  basket, 
shot  through  the  osier  grating  and  curled  about  her  arms. 
At  the  sight  of  this,  the  fervor  of  the  crowd  seemed  to  swell 
suddenly  higher;  and  the  chant  rose  in  pitch  and  grew  more 
irregular  in  time  and  accent.  Then,  at  a  sign  from  the  tall 
negro,  where  he  stood,  motionless  and  smiling,  in  the  moon 
and  firelight,  the  singing  died  away,  and  there  began  the 
second  stage  of  this  barbarous  and  bloody  celebration.  From 
different  parts  of  the  ring,  one  after  another,  man  or 
woman,  ran  forth  into  the  midst,  ducked,  with  that  same 
gesture  of  the  thrown-up  hand  before  the  priestess  and  her 
snakes;  and  with  various  adjurations,  uttered  aloud  the 
blackest  wishes  of  the  heart.  Death  and  disease  were  the 
favors  usually  invoked:  the  death  or  the  disease  of  enemies 
or  rivals ;  some  calHng  down  these  plagues  upon  the  nearest 
of  their  own  blood,  and  one,  to  whom  I  swear  I  had  been 
never  less  than  kind,  invoking  them  upon  myself.  At  each 
petition,  the  tall  negro,  still  smiling,  picked  up  some  bird 
or  animal  from  the  heaving  mass  upon  his  left,  slew  it  with 
the  knife,  and  tossed  its  body  on  the  ground.  At  length,  it 
seemed,  it  reached  the  turn  of  the  high-priestess.  She  set 
down  the  basket  on  the  steps,  moved  into  the  center  of  the 
ring,  groveled  in  the  dust  before  the  reptiles,  and  still  grovel- 
ing lifted  up  her  voice,  between  speech  and  singing,  and  with 
so  great,  with  so  insane  fervor  of  excitement,  as  struck  a 
sort  of  horror  through  my  blood. 

"  Power,"  she  began,  "  whose  name  we  do  not  utter ; 
power  that  is  neither  good  nor  evil,  but  below  them  both; 
stronger  than  good,  greater  than  evil — all  my  life  long  I 

488 


THE   FAIR   CUBAN 

have  adored  and  served  thee.  Who  has  shed  blood  upon 
thine  altars?  whose  voice  is  broken  with  the  singing  of  thy 
praises?  whose  limbs  are  faint  before  their  age  with  leaping 
in  thy  revels?  Who  has  slain  the  child  of  her  body?  I," 
she  cried,  "  I,  Metamnbogu !  By  my  own  name,  I  name 
myself.  I  tear  away  the  veil.  I  would  be  served  or  perish. 
Hear  me,  slime  of  the  fat  swamp,  blackness  of  the  thunder, 
venom  of  the  serpent's  udder — hear  or  slay  me!  I  would 
have  two  things,  O  shapeless  one,  O  horror  of  emptiness — 
two  things,  or  die!  The  blood  of  my  white- faced  husband; 
oh !  give  me  that ;  he  Is  the  enemy  of  Hoodoo ;  give  me  his 
blood !  And  yet  another,  O  racer  of  the  blind  winds,  O 
germinator  In  the  ruins  of  the  dead,  O  root  of  life,  root 
of  corruption !  I  grow  old,  I  grow  hideous ;  I  am  known,  I 
am  hunted  for  my  life:  let  thy  servant  then  lay  by  this  out- 
worn body ;  let  thy  chief  priestess  turn  again  to  the  blossom 
of  her  days,  and  be  a  girl  once  more,  and  the  desired  of  all 
men,  even  as  in  the  past !  And,  O  lord  and  master,  as  I 
here  ask  a  marvel  not  yet  wrought  since  we  were  torn  from 
the  old  land,  have  I  not  prepared  the  sacrifice  In  wliich  thy 
soul  delighteth — the  kid  without  the  horns?  " 

Even  as  she  uttered  the  words,  there  was  a  great  rumor 
of  joy  through  all  the  circle  of  the  worshipers;  it  rose,  and 
fell,  and  rose  again ;  and  swelled  at  last  Into  rapture,  when 
the  tall  negro,  who  had  stepped  an  Instant  Into  the  chapel, 
reappeared  before  the  door,  carrying  in  his  arms  the  body 
of  the  slave-girl,  Cora.  I  know  not  if  I  saw  what  followed. 
When  next  my  mind  awoke  to  a  clear  knowledge,  Cora  was 
laid  upon  the  steps  before  the  serpents ;  tlxe  negro  with  the 
knife  stood  over  her;  the  knife  rose,  and  at  tliis  I  screamed 
out  in  my  great  horror,  bidding  them,  in  God's  name,  to 
pause. 

A  stillness  fell  upon  the  mob  of  cannibals.  A  moment 
more,  and  they  must  have  throAVTi  off  this  stupor,  and  I 
infallibly  have  perished.  But  heaven  had  designed  to  save 
me.  The  silence  of  these  wretched  men  was  not  yet  broken, 
when  there  arose.  In  the  empty  niglit,  a  sound  louder  than  the 
roar  of  any  European  tempest,  swifter  to  travel  than  the 

489 


THE  DYNAMITER 

wings  of  any  Eastern  wind.  Blackness  ingulfed  the  world: 
blackness,  stabbed  across  from  every  side  by  intricate  and 
blinding  lightning.  Almost  in  the  same  second,  at  one  world- 
swallowing  stride,  the  heart  of  the  tornado  reached  the 
clearing.  I  heard  an  agonizing  crash,  and  the  light  of  my 
reason  was  overwhelmed. 

When  I  recovered  consciousness,  the  day  was  come.  I 
was  unhurt;  the  trees  close  about  me  had  not  lost  a  bough; 
and  I  might  have  thought  at  first  that  the  tornado  was  a 
feature  in  a  dream.  It  was  otherwise  indeed;  for  when  I 
looked  abroad,  I  perceived  I  had  escaped  destruction  by  a 
hand's-breadth.  Right  through  the  forest,  which  here  cov- 
ered hill  and  dale,  the  storm  had  plowed  a  lane  of  ruin.  On 
either  hand,  the  trees  waved  uninjured  in  the  air  of  the 
morning;  but  in  the  forthright  course  of  its  advance,  the 
hurricane  had  left  no  trophy  standing.  Every  thing,  in 
that  line,  tree,  man  or  animal,  the  desecrated  chapel  and  the 
votaries  of  Hoodoo,  had  been  subverted  and  destroyed  in 
that  brief  spasm  of  anger  of  the  powers  of  air.  Every 
thing,  but  a  yard  or  two  beyond  the  line  of  its  passage, 
humble  flower,  lofty  tree,  and  the  poor  vulnerable  maid 
who  now  kneeled  to  pay  her  gratitude  to  heaven,  awoke 
unharmed  in  the  crystal  purity  and  peace  of  the  new  day. 

To  move  by  the  path  of  the  tornado  was  a  thing  impos- 
sible to  man,  so  wildly  were  the  wrecks  of  the  tall  forest 
piled  together  by  that  fugitive  convulsion.  I  crossed  it 
indeed ;  with  such  labor  and  patience,  with  so  many  dan- 
gerous slips  and  falls,  as  left  me,  at  the  further  side,  bank- 
rupt alike  of  strength  and  courage.  There  I  sat  down 
awhile  to  recruit  my  forces ;  and  as  I  ate  (how  should  I 
bless  the  kindliness  of  heaven!)  my  eyes,  flitting  to  and  fro 
in  the  colonnade  of  the  great  trees,  alighted  on  a  trunk  that 
had  been  blazed.  Yes,  by  the  directing  hand  of  providence, 
I  had  been  conducted  to  the  very  track  I  was  to  follow. 
With  what  a  light  heart  I  now  set  forth,  and  walking  with 
how  glad  a  step,  traversed  the  uplands  of  the  isle ! 

It  was  hard  upon  the  hour  of  noon  when  I  came,  all 
tattered  and  wayworn,  to  the  summit  of  a  steep  descent,  and 

490 


THE  FAIR  Cuban; 

looked  below  me  on  the  sea.  About  all  the  coast,  the  surf, 
roused  by  the  tornado  of  the  night,  beat  with  a  particular 
fury  and  made  a  fringe  of  snow.  Close  at  my  feet,  I  saw 
a  haven,  set  in  precipitous  and  palm-crowned  bluffs  of  rock. 
Just  outside,  a  ship  was  heaving  on  the  surge,  so  trimly 
sparred,  so  glossily  painted,  so  elegant  and  point-device  in 
every  feature,  that  my  heart  was  seized  with  admiration. 
The  English  colors  blew  from  her  masthead;  and  from  my 
high  station,  I  caught  glimpses  of  her  snowy  planking,  as 
she  rolled  on  the  uneven  deep,  and  saw  the  sun  glitter  on 
the  brass  of  her  deck  furniture.  There,  then,  was  my  ship 
of  refuge;  and  of  all  my  difficulties  only  one  remained:  to 
get  on  board  of  her. 

Half  an  hour  later,  I  issued  at  last  out  of  the  woods  on 
the  margin  of  a  cove,  into  whose  jaws  the  tossing  and  blue 
billows  entered,  and  along  whose  shores  they  broke  with  a 
surprising  loudness.  A  wooded  promontory  hid  the  yacht; 
and  I  had  walked  some  distance  round  the  beach,  in  what 
appeared  to  be  a  virgin  solitude,  when  my  eye  fell  on  a  boat, 
drawn  into  a  natural  harbor,  where  it  rocked  in  safety,  but 
deserted.  I  looked  about  for  those  who  should  have  manned 
her;  and  presently,  in  the  immediate  entrance  of  the  wood, 
spied  the  red  embers  of  a  fire  and,  stretched  around  in 
various  attitudes,  a  party  of  slumbering  mariners.  To 
these  I  drew  near:  most  were  black,  a  few  white;  but  all 
were  dressed  with  the  conspicuous  decency  of  yachtsmen; 
and  one,  from  his  peaked  cap  and  gHttering  buttons,  I 
rightly  divined  to  be  an  officer.  Him,  then,  I  touched  upon 
the  shoulder.  He  started  up ;  the  sharpness  of  his  move- 
ment woke  the  rest ;  and  they  all  stared  upon  me  in  surprise. 

"  What  do  you  want  ?  "  inquired  the  officer. 

*'  To  go  on  board  the  yacht,"  I  answered. 

I  thought  they  all  seemed  disconcerted  at  this ;  and  the 
officer,  with  something  of  sharpness  asked  me  who  I  was. 
Now  I  had  determined  to  conceal  my  name  until  I  met  Sir 
George ;  and  the  first  name  that  rose  to  my  lips  was  that  of 
Senora  Mendizabal.  At  the  word,  there  went  a  shock  about 
the  Kttle  party  of  seamen;  the  negroes  stared  at  me  with 

491 


THE  DYNAMITER 

indescribable  eagerness,  the  whites  themselves  with  some- 
thing of  a  scared  surprise;  and  instantly  the  spirit  of  mis- 
chief prompted  me  to  add :  "  And  if  the  name  is  new  to  your 
ears,  call  me  Metamnbogu." 

I  had  never  seen  an  effect  so  wonderful.  The  negroes 
threw  their  hands  into  the  air,  with  the  same  gesture  I 
remarked  the  night  before  about  the  Hoodoo  camp-fire; 
first  one,  and  then  another,  ran  forward  and  kneeled  down 
and  kissed  the  skirts  of  my  torn  dress ;  and  when  the  white 
officer  broke  out  swearing  and  calling  to  know  if  they  were 
mad,  the  colored  seamen  took  him  by  the  shoulders,  dragged 
him  on  one  side  till  they  were  out  of  hearing,  and  sur- 
rounded him  with  open  mouths  and  extravagant  pantomime. 
The  officer  seemed  to  struggle  hard ;  he  laughed  aloud,  and 
I  saw  him  make  gestures  of  dissent  and  protest;  but  in  the 
end,  whether  overcome  by  reason  or  simply  weary  of  re- 
sistance, he  gave  in — approached  me  civilly  enough,  but 
with  something  of  a  sneering  manner  underneath — and 
touching  his  cap,  "  My  lady,"  said  he,  "  if  that  is  what  you 
are,  the  boat  is  ready." 

My  reception  on  board  of  the  "  Nemorosa  "  (for  so  the 
yacht  was  named)  partook  of  the  same  mingled  nature. 
We  were  scarcely  within  hail  of  that  great  and  elegant  fab- 
ric, where  she  lay  rolling  gunwale  under  and  churning  the 
blue  sea  to  snow,  before  the  bulwarks  were  lined  with  the 
heads  of  a  great  crowd  of  seamen,  black,  white  and  yellow; 
and  these  and  the  few  who  manned  the  boat  began  exchang- 
ing shouts  in  some  lingua  franca  incomprehensible  to  me. 
All  eyes  were  directed  on  the  passenger,  and  once  more  I 
saw  the  negroes  toss  up  their  hands  to  heaven,  but  now  as 
if  with  passionate  wonder  and  delight. 

At  the  head  of  the  gangway  I  was  received  by  another 
officer,  a  gentlemanly  man  with  blonde  and  bushy  whiskers, 
and  to  whom  I  addressed  my  demand  to  see  Sir  George. 

"  But  this  is  not "  he  cried,  and  paused. 

"  I  know  it,"  returned  the  other  officer,  who  had  brought 
me  from  the  shore.  "  But  what  the  devil  can  we  do.''  Look 
at  all  the  niggers !  " 

492 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

I  followed  his  direction ;  and  as  my  eye  lighted  upon  each, 
the  poor  ignorant  Africans  ducked  and  bowed  and  threw: 
their  hands  into  the  air,  as  though  in  the  presence  of  a 
creature  half  divine.  Apparently  the  officer  with  the  whis- 
kers had  instantly  come  round  to  the  opinion  of  his  subal- 
tern, for  he  now  addressed  me  with  every  signal  of  respect. 

"  Sir  George  is  at  the  island,  my  lady,"  said  he,  "  for 
which,  with  your  ladyship's  permission,  I  shall  immediately 
make  all  sail.  The  cabins  are  prepared.  Steward,  take 
Lady  Greville  below. 

Under  this  new  name,  then,  and  so  captivated  by  surprise 
that  I  could  neither  think  nor  speak,  I  was  ushered  into  a 
spacious  and  airy  cabin,  hung  about  with  weapons  and  sur- 
rounded by  divans.  The  steward  asked  for  my  commands, 
but  I  was  by  this  time  so  wearied,  bewildered  and  disturbed 
that  I  could  only  wave  him  to  leave  me  to  myself  and  sink 
upon  a  pile  of  cushions.  Presentl}'^,  by  the  changed  motion 
of  the  ship,  I  knew  her  to  be  under  way ;  my  thoughts,  so 
far  from  clarifying,  grew  the  more  distracted  and  con- 
fused ;  dreams  began  to  mingle  and  confound  them,  and 
at  length,  by  insensible  transition,  I  sank  into  a  dreamless 
slumber. 

When  I  awoke  the  day  and  night  had  passed,  and  it  was 
once  more  morning.  The  world  on  which  I  reopened  my 
eyes  swam  strangely  up  and  down;  the  jewels  in  the  bag 
that  lay  beside  me  chinked  together  ceaselessly ;  the  clock 
and  the  barometer  wagged  to  and  fro  like  pendulums,  and 
overhead  seamen  were  singing  out  at  their  Avork,  and  coils 
of  rope  clattering  and  thumping  on  the  deck.  Yet  it  was 
long  before  I  had  divined  that  I  was  at  sea ;  long  before  I 
had  recalled,  one  after  another,  the  tragical,  m^'sterious  and 
inexplicable  events  that  had  brought  me  where  I  was. 

When  I  had  done  so,  I  thrust  the  jewels,  which  I  was 
surprised  to  find  had  been  respected,  into  the  bosom  of  my 
dress,  and  seeing  a  silver  bell  hard  b}'^  upon  a  table,  rang  it 
loudly.  The  steward  instantly  appeared;  I  asked  for  food, 
and  he  proceeded  to  lay  the  table,  regarding  me  the  while 
with   a   disquieting   and  pertinacious   scrutin3^      To   relieve 

493 


THE   DYNAMITER 

myself  of  my  embarrassment,  I  asked  him,  with  as  fair  a 
show  of  ease  as  I  could  muster,  if  it  were  usual  for  yachts 
to  carry  so  numerous  a  crew? 

"  Madam,"  said  he,  "  I  know  not  who  you  are,  nor  what 
mad  fancy  has  induced  you  to  usurp  a  name  and  an  appall- 
ing destiny  that  are  not  yours.  I  warn  you  from  the  soul. 
No  sooner  arrived  at  the  island " 

At  this  moment  he  was  interrupted  by  the  whiskered 
officer,  who  had  entered  unperceived  behind  him,  and  now 
laid  a  hand  upon  his  shoulder.  The  sudden  pallor,  the 
deadly  and  sick  fear  that  was  imprinted  on  the  steward's 
face,  formed  a  startling  addition  to  his  words. 

"  Parker !  '*  said  the  officer,  and  pointed  towards  the 
door. 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Kentish,"  said  the  steward.  *'  For  God's  sake, 
Mr.  Kentish ! "  and  vanished  with  a  white  face  from  the 
cabin. 

Thereupon  the  officer  bade  me  sit  down,  and  began  to 
help  me,  and  join  in  the  meal.  "  I  fill  your  ladyship's  glass," 
said  he,  and  handed  me  a  tumbler  of  neat  rum. 

"  Sir,"  cried  I,  "  do  you  expect  me  to  drink  this.?  " 

He  laughed  heartily.  "  Your  ladyship  is  so  much 
changed,"  said  he,  "  that  I  no  longer  expect  any  one  thing 
more  than  any  other." 

Immediately  after,  a  white  seaman  entered  the  cabin, 
saluted  both  Mr.  Kentish  and  myself,  and  informed  the 
officer  there  was  a  sail  in  sight,  which  was  bound  to  pass  us 
very  close,  and  that  Mr.  Harland  was  in  doubt  about  the 
colors. 

"  Being  so  near  the  island  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Kentish. 

"  That  was  what  Mr.  Harland  said,  sir,"  returned  the 
sailor,  with  a  scrape. 

"  Better  not,  I  think,"  said  Mr.  Kentish.  "  My  compli- 
ments to  Mr.  Harland;  and  if  she  seem  a  lively  boat,  give 
her  the  stars  and  stripes;  but  if  she  be  dull,  and  we  can 
easily  outsail  her,  show  John  Dutchman.  That  is  always 
another  word  for  incivility  at  sea ;  so  we  can  disregard  a  hail 
or  a  flag  of  distress,  without  attracting  notice." 

494 


THE   FAIR   CUBAN 

As  soon  as  the  sailor  had  gone  on  deck,  I  turned  to  the 
officer  in  wonder.  "  Mr.  Kentish,  if  that  be  your  name," 
said  I,  "  are  you  ashamed  of  your  own  colors.''  " 

"  Your  ladyship  refers  to  the  *  Jolly  Roger '  ?  "  he  in- 
quired, with  perfect  gravity;  and  immediately  after,  went 
into  peals  of  laughter.  "  Pardon  me,"  said  he ;  "  but  here 
for  the  first  time,  I  recognize  your  ladyship's  impetuosity." 
Nor,  try  as  I  pleased,  could  I  extract  from  him  any  expla- 
nation of  this  mystery,  but  only  oily  and  commonplace 
evasion. 

While  we  were  thus  occupied,  the  movement  of  the 
"  Nemorosa  "  gradually  became  less  violent ;  its  speed  at  the 
same  time  diminished;  and  presently  after,  with  a  sullen 
plunge,  the  anchor  was  discharged  into  the  sea.  Kentish 
immediately  rose,  offered  his  arm  and  conducted  me  on  deck ; 
where  I  found  we  were  lying  in  a  roadstead  among  many  low 
and  rocky  islets,  hovered  about  by  an  innumerable  cloud  of 
sea-fowl.  Immediately  under  our  board,  a  somewhat  larger 
isle  was  green  with  trees,  set  with  a  few  low  buildings  and 
approached  by  a  pier  of  very  crazy  workmanship ;  and  a 
little  inshore  of  us,  a  smaller  vessel  lay  at  anchor. 

I  had  scarce  time  to  glance  to  the  four  quarters,  ere  a 
boat  was  lowered.  I  was  handed  in,  Kentish  took  place 
beside  me,  and  we  pulled  briskly  to  the  pier.  A  crowd  of 
villainous,  armed  loiterers,  both  black  and  white,  looked  on 
upon  our  landing;  and  again  the  word  passed  about  among 
the  negroes,  and  again  I  was  received  with  prostrations  and 
the  same  gesture  of  the  flung-up  hand.  By  this,  what  with 
the  appearance  of  these  men  and  the  lawless,  sea-girt  spot 
in  which  I  found  myself,  my  courage  began  a  little  to  de- 
cline, and  clinging  to  the  arm  of  ]Mr.  Kentish,  I  begged  him 
to  tell  me  what  it  meant? 

"  Nay,  madam,"  he  continued,  "  you  know,"  And  leading 
me  smartly  through  the  crowd,  which  continued  to  follow 
at  a  considerable  distance,  and  at  which  he  still  kept  looking 
back,  I  thought,  with  apprehension,  he  brought  me  to  a 
low  house  that  stood  alone  in  an  encumbered  yard,  opened 
the  door,  and  begged  me  to  enter. 

495 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  But  why?  '*  said  I.     "  I  demanded  to  see  Sir  George." 

"  Madam,"  returned  Mr.  Kentish,  looking  suddenly  as 
black  as  thunder,  "  to  drop  all  fence,  I  know  neither  who 
nor  what  you  are;  beyond  the  fact  that  you  are  not  the 
person  whose  name  you  have  assumed.  But  be  what  you 
please,  spy,  ghost,  devil  or  most  ill-judging  jester,  if  you  do 
not  immediately  enter  that  house,  I  will  cut  you  to  the 
earth."  And  even  as  he  spoke,  he  threw  an  uneasy  glance 
behind  him  at  the  following  crowd  of  blacks. 

I  did  not  wait  to  be  twice  threatened;  I  obeyed  at  once 
and  with  a  palpitating  heart ;  and  the  next  moment,  the  door 
was  locked  from  outside  and  the  key  withdrawn.  The  in- 
terior was  long,  low  and  quite  unfurnished,  but  filled,  almost 
from  end  to  end,  with  sugar-cane,  tar  barrels,  old  tarry 
rope,  and  other  incongruous  and  highly  inflammable  mate- 
rial; and  not  only  was  the  door  locked,  but  the  solitary 
window  barred  with  iron. 

I  was  by  this  time  so  exceedingly  bewildered  and  afraid, 
that  I  would  have  given  years  of  my  life  to  be  once  more 
the  slave  of  Mr.  Caulder.  I  still  stood,  with  my  hands 
clasped,  the  image  of  despair,  looking  about  me  on  the  lum- 
ber room  or  raising  my  eyes  to  Heaven ;  when  there  ap- 
peared outside  the  window  bars,  the  face  of  a  very  black 
negro,  who  signed  to  me  imperiously  to  draw  near.  I  did 
so,  and  he  instantly,  and  with  every  mark  of  fervor,  ad- 
dressed me  a  long  speech  in  some  unknown  and  barbarous 
tongue. 

"  I  declare,"  I  cried,  clasping  my  brow,  "  I  do  not  under- 
stand one  syllable." 

"Not.?"  he  said  in  Spanish.  "Great,  great,  are  the 
powers  of  Hoodoo !  Her  very  mind  is  changed !  But,  O 
chief  priestess,  why  have  you  suffered  yourself  to  be  shut 
into  this  cage?  why  did  you  not  call  your  slaves  at  once  to 
your  defense?  Do  you  not  see  that  all  has  been  prepared 
to  murder  you?  at  a  spark,  this  flimsy  house  will  go  in 
flames ;  and  alas !  who  shall  then  be  the  chief  priestess  ?  and 
what  shall  be  the  profit  of  the  miracle?  " 

"  Heavens !  "  cried  I,  "  can  I  not  see  Sir  George !  I  must, 

496 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

I  must,  come  by  speech  of  him.  Oh,  bring  me  to  Sir 
George !  "  And,  my  terror  fairly  mastering  my  courage, 
I  fell  upon  my  knees  and  began  to  pray  to  all  the  saints. 

"  Lordy !  "  cried  the  negro,  "  here  they  come !  "  And 
his  black  head  was  instantly  withdrawn  from  the  window. 

"  I  never  heard  such  nonsense  in  my  life,"  exclaimed  a 
voice. 

"  Why,  so  we  all  say.  Sir  George,"  replied  the  voice  of 
Mr.  Kentish.  "  But  put  yourself  in  our  place.  The  niggers 
were  two  to  one.  And  upon  my  word,  if  you'll  excuse  me, 
sir,  considering  the  notion  they  have  taken  in  their  heads,  I 
regard  it  as  precious  fortunate  for  all  of  us  that  the  mistake 
occurred." 

"  This  is  no  question  of  fortune,  sir,"  returned  Sir 
George.  "  It  is  a  question  of  my  orders,  and  you  may 
take  my  word  for  it,  Kentish,  either  Harland,  or  yourself, 
or  Parker — or,  by  George,  all  three  of  you ! — shall  swing 
for  this  affair.  These  are  my  sentiments.  Give  me  the  key 
and  be  off," 

Immediately  after,  the  key  turned  in  the  lock;  and  there 
appeared  upon  the  threshold  a  gentleman,  between  forty 
and  fifty,  with  a  very  open  countenance  and  of  a  stout  and 
personable  figure. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  said  he,  "  who  the  devil  may 
you  he? " 

I  told  him  my  story  In  a  rush  of  words.  He  heard  me, 
from  the  first,  with  an  amazement  you  can  scarcely  picture, 
but  Avhen  I  came  to  the  death  of  the  Sefiora  Mendizabal  in 
the  tornado,  he  fairl}'^  leaped  into  the  air. 

"  My  dear  child,"  he  cried,  clasping  me  in  his  arms,  "  ex- 
cuse a  man  who  might  be  your  father!  This  is  the  best 
news  I  have  heard  since  I  was  born ;  for  that  hag  of  a 
mulatto  was  no  less  a  person  than  my  wife."  He  sat  down 
upon  a  tar-barrel,  as  if  unmanned  by  joy.  "Dear  me," 
said  he,  "  I  declare  this  tempts  me  to  believe  in  Providence. 
And  what,"  he  added,  "  can  I  do  for  you.''  " 

"  Sir  George,"  said  I,  "  I  am  already  rich:  all  that  I  ask 
is  your  protection." 

497 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  Understand  one  thing,"  he  said,  with  great  energy :  "  I 
will  never  marry." 

"  I  had  not  ventured  to  propose  it,"  I  exclaimed,  unable 
to  restrain  my  mirth ;  "  I  only  seek  to  be  conveyed  to  Eng- 
land, the  natural  home  of  the  escaped  slave." 

"  Well,"  returned  Sir  George,  "  frankly  I  owe  you  one 
for  this  exhilarating  news ;  besides,  your  father  was  of  use 
to  me.  Now,  I  have  made  up  a  small  competence  in  business 
— a  jewel  mine,  a  sort  of  naval  agency,  et  caetera,  and  I  am 
on  the  point  of  breaking  up  my  company,  and  retiring  to 
my  place  in  Devonshire  to  pass  a  plain  old  age,  unmarried. 
One  good  turn  deserves  another:  if  you  swear  to  hold  your 
tongue  about  this  island,  these  little  bonfire  arrangements, 
and  the  whole  episode  of  my  unfortunate  marriage,  why, 
I'll  carry  you  home  aboard  the  '  Nemorosa.'  " 

I  eagerly  accepted  his  conditions. 

"  One  tiling  more,"  said  he.  "  My  late  wife  was  some 
sort  of  a  sorceress  among  the  blacks ;  and  they  are  all  per- 
suaded she  has  come  alive  again  in  your  agreeable  person. 
Now,  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  keep  up  that  fancy,  if 
you  please ;  and  to  swear  to  them,  on  the  authority  of 
Hoodoo  or  whatever  his  name  may  be,  that  I  am  from  this 
moment  quite  a  sacred  character." 

"  I  swear  it,"  said  I,  "  by  my  father's  memory ;  and  that 
is  a  vow  that  I  will  never  break." 

"  I  have  considerably  better  hold  on  you  than  any  oath," 
returned  Sir  George,  with  a  chuckle ;  "  for  you  are  not  only 
an  escaped  slave,  but  have,  by  your  own  account,  a  consider- 
able amount  of  stolen  property." 

I  was  struck  dumb ;  I  saw  it  was  too  true ;  in  a  glance,  I 
recognized  that  these  jewels  were  no  longer  mine;  with 
similar  quickness,  I  decided  they  should  be  restored,  ay,  if 
it  cost  me  the  liberty  that  I  had  just  regained.  Forgetful 
of  all  else,  forgetful  of  Sir  George,  who  sat  and  watched  me 
with  a  smile,  I  drew  out  Mr.  Caulder's  pocket-book  and 
turned  to  the  page  on  which  the  dying  man  had  scrawled  his 
testament.  How  shall  I  describe  the  agony  of  happiness 
and  remorse,  with  which  I  read  it!  for  my  victim  had  not 

498 


I 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

jonly  set  me  free,  but  bequeathed  to  me  the  bag  of  jewels. 
My  plain  tale  draws  towards  a  close.  Sir  George  and  I, 
in  my  character  of  his  rejuvenated  wife,  displayed  ourselves 
arm-in-arm  among  the  negroes,  and  were  cheered  and  fol- 
lowed to  the  place  of  embarkation.  There,  Sir  George, 
turning  about,  made  a  speech  to  his  old  companions,  in 
which  he  thanked  and  bade  them  farewell  with  a  very  manly 
spirit ;  and  toward  the  end  of  which,  he  fell  on  some  expres- 
sions which  I  still  remember.  "  If  any  of  you  gentry  lose 
your  money,"  he  said,  "  take  care  you  do  not  come  to  me ; 
for  in  the  first  place,  I  shall  do  my  best  to  have  you  mur- 
dered ;  and  if  that  fails,  I  hand  you  over  to  the  law.  Black- 
mail won't  do  for  me.  I'll  rather  risk  all  upon  a  cast,  than 
be  pulled  to  pieces  by  degrees.  I'll  rather  be  found  out  and 
hang,  than  give  a  doit  to  one  man- jack  of  you."  That 
same  night  we  got  under  way  and  crossed  to  the  port  of  New 
Orleans,  whence,  as  a  sacred  trust,  I  sent  the  pocket-book  to 
Mr.  Caulder's  son.  In  a  week's  time,  the  men  were  all  paid 
off ;  new  hands  were  shipped ;  and  the  "  Nemorosa  "  weighed 
her  anchor  for  Old  England. 

A  more  delightful  voyage  it  were  hard  to  fancy.  Sir 
George,  of  course,  was  not  a  conscientious  man ;  but  he  had 
an  unaffected  gayety  of  character  that  naturally  endeared 
him  to  the  young ;  and  it  was  interesting  to  hear  him  lay  out 
his  projects  for  the  future,  when  he  should  be  returned  to 
parHament,  and  place  at  the  service  of  the  nation,  his  ex- 
perience of  marine  affairs.  I  asked  him,  if  his  notion  of 
piracy  upon  a  private  yacht  were  not  original.  But  he  told 
me,  no.  "  A  yacht.  Miss  Valdevia,"  he  observed,  "  is  a  char- 
tered nuisance.  Who  smuggles.''  Who  robs  the  salmon 
rivers  of  the  west  of  Scotland?  Who  cruelly  beats  the 
keepers  if  they  dare  to  intervene?  The  crews  and  the  pro- 
prietors of  yachts.  All  I  have  done  is  to  extend  the  line  a 
trifle;  and  if  you  ask  me  for  my  unbiased  opinion,  I  do  not 
suppose  that  I  am  in  the  least  alone." 

In  short  we  were  the  best  of  friends,  and  lived  like  father 
and  daughter;  though  I  still  withheld  from  him,  of  course, 
that  respect  which  is  only  due  to  moral  excellence. 

499 


THE   DYNAMITER 

We  were  still  some  days'  sail  from  England,  when  Sir 
George  obtained,  from  an  outward-bound  ship,  a  packet  of 
newspapers ;  and  from  that  fatal  hour  my  misfortunes  re- 
commenced. He  sat,  the  same  evening,  in  the  cabin,  reading 
the  news,  and  making  savory  comments  on  the  decline  of 
England  and  the  poor  condition  of  the  navy ;  when  I  sud- 
denly observed  him  to  change  countenance. 

"  Hullo !  "  said  he,  "  this  is  bad ;  this  is  deuced  bad.  Miss 
Valdevia.  You  would  not  listen  to  sound  sense,  you  would 
send  that  pocket-book  to  that  man  Caulder's  son." 

"  Sir  George,"  said  I,  "  it  was  my  duty." 

"  You  are  prettily  paid  for  it,  at  least,"  says  he ;  "  and 
much  as  I  regret  it,  I,  for  one,  am  done  with  you.  This 
fellow  Caulder  demands  your  extradition." 

"  But  a  slave,"  I  returned,  "  is  safe  in  England." 

"  Yes,  b}"^  George !  "  replied  the  baronet ;  "  but  it's  not  a 
slave.  Miss  Valdevia,  it's  a  thief  that  he  demands.  He  has 
quietly  destroyed  the  will;  and  now  accuses  you  of  robbing 
your  father's  bankrupt  estate  of  jewels  to  the  value  of  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds." 

I  was  so  much  overcome  by  indignation  at  this  hateful 
charge  and  concern  for  my  unhappy  fate  that  the  genial 
baronet  made  haste  to  put  me  more  at  ease. 

"  Do  not  be  cast  down,"  said  he.  "  Of  course,  I  wash  my 
hands  of  you,  myself.  A  man  in  my  position — baronet,  old 
family,  and  all  that — can  not  possibly  be  too  particular 
about  the  company  he  keeps.  But  I  am  a  deuced  good- 
humored  old  boy,  let  me  tell  you,  when  not  ruffled,  and  I 
will  do  the  best  I  can  to  put  you  right.  I  will  lend  you  a 
trifle  of  ready  money,  give  you  the  address  of  an  excellent 
lawyer  In  London,  and  find  a  way  to  set  you  on  shore 
unsuspected." 

He  was  in  every  particular  as  good  as  his  word.  Four 
days  later,  the  "  Nemorosa  "  sounded  her  way,  under  the 
cloak  of  a  dark  night.  Into  a  certain  haven  of  the  coast  of 
England ;  and  a  boat,  rowing  with  muffled  oars,  set  me 
ashore  upon  the  beach  within  a  stone's  throw  of  a  railway 
station.      Thither,    guided    by    Sir    George's    directions,    I 

500 


THE   FAIR    CUBAN 

groped  a  devious  way;  and  finding  a  bench  upon  clie  plat- 
form, sat  me  down,  wrapped  in  a  man's  fur  great-coat,  to 
await  the  coming  of  the  day.  It  was  still  dark  when  a  light 
was  struck  behind  one  of  the  windows  of  the  building ;  nor 
had  the  east  begun  to  kindle  to  the  warmer  colors  of  the 
da^wTi,  before  a  porter,  carrying  a  lantern,  issued  from  the 
door  and  found  himself  face  to  face  with  the  unfortunate 
Teresa.  He  looked  all  about  him ;  in  the  gray  twilight  of 
the  dawn,  the  haven  was  seen  to  lie  deserted,  and  the  yacht 
had  long  since  disappeared. 

"Who  are  you.^*"  he  cried. 

*'  I  am  a  traveler,"  said  I. 

"  And  where  do  you  come  from?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  am  going  by  the  first  train  to  London,"  I  replied. 

In  such  manner,  like  a  ghost  or  a  new  creation,  was 
Teresa  with  her  bag  of  jewels  landed  on  the  shores  of  Eng- 
land; in  this  silent  fashion,  without  history  or  name,  she 
took  her  place  among  the  millions  of  a  new  country. 

Since  then,  I  have  lived  by  the  expedients  of  my  lawyer, 
lying  concealed  in  quiet  lodgings,  dogged  by  the  spies  of 
Cuba,  and  not  knowing  at  what  hour  my  liberty  and  honor 
may  be  lost. 


501 


THE   BROWN    BOX    (cOUCluded).  < 

THE  effect  of  this  tale  on  the  mind  of  Harry  Desborough 
was  instant  and  convincing.  The  Fair  Cuban  had  been 
already  the  loveliest,  she  now  became  in  his  eyes,  the  most 
romantic,  the  most  innocent  and  the  most  unhappy  of  her 
sex.  He  was  bereft  of  words  to  utter  what  he  felt:  what 
pity,  what  admiration,  what  youthful  envy  of  a  career  so 
vivid  and  adventurous.  "  Oh,  madam !  "  he  began ;  and  find- 
ing no  language  adequate  to  that  apostrophe,  caught  up 
her  hand  and  wrung  it  in  his  own.  "  Count  upon  me,"  he 
added,  with  bewildered  fervor ;  and  getting  somehow  or  other 
out  of  the  apartment  and  from  the  circle  of  that  radiant 
sorceress,  he  found  himself  in  the  strange  out-of-doors,  be- 
holding dull  houses,  wondering  at  dull  passers-by,  a  fallen 
angel.  She  had  smiled  upon  him  as  he  left,  and  with  how 
significant,  how  beautiful  a  smile!  The  memory  lingered  in 
his  heart ;  and  when  he  found  his  way  to  a  certain  restaurant 
where  music  was  performed,  flutes  (as  it  were  of  Paradise) 
accompanied  his  meal.  The  strings  went  to  the  melody  of 
that  parting  smile;  they  paraphrased  and  glossed  it  in  the 
sense  that  he  desired;  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  plain  and 
somewhat  dreary  life,  he  perceived  himself  to  have  a  taste 
for  music. 

The  next  day,  and  the  next,  his  meditations  moved  to  that 
delectable  air.  Now  he  saw  her  and  was  favored;  now  saw 
her  not  at  all ;  now  saw  her  and  was  put  by.  The  fall  of  her 
foot  upon  the  stair  entranced  him ;  the  books  that  he  sought 
out  and  read,  were  books  on  Cuba  and  spoke  of  her  indi- 
rectly ;  nay,  and  in  the  very  landlady's  parlor,  he  found  one 
that  told  of  precisely  such  a  hurricane,  and,  down  to  the 
smallest  detail,  confirmed  (had  confirmation  been  required) 
the  truth  of  her  recital.    Presently  he  began  to  fall  into  that 

50^ 


THE   BROWN   BOX 

prettiest  mood  of  a  young  lovo,  in  which  the  lover  scorns 
himself  for  his  presumption.  Who  was  he,  the  dull  one,  the 
commonplace  unemployed,  the  man  without  adventure,  the 
impure,  the  untruthful,  to  aspire  to  such  a  creature  made 
of  fire  and  air,  and  hallowed  and  adorned  by  such  incom- 
parable passages  of  life?  What  should  he  do  to  be  more 
worthy?  By  what  devotion  call  down  the  notice  of  these 
ej^es  to  so  terrene  a  being  as  himself? 

He  betook  himself,  thereupon,  to  the  rural  privacy  of  the 
square,  where,  being  a  lad  of  a  kind  heart,  he  had  made  him- 
self a  circle  of  acquaintances  among  its  shy  frequenters,  the 
half-domestic  cats  and  the  visitors  that  hung  before  the 
windows  of  the  Children's  Hospital.  There  he  walked,  con- 
sidering the  depth  of  his  demerit  and  the  height  of  the 
adored  one's  super-excellence;  now  lighting  upon  earth  to 
say  a  pleasant  word  to  the  brother  of  some  infant  invalid; 
now,  with  a  great  heave  of  breath,  remembering  the  queen 
of  women,  and  the  sunshine  of  his  life. 

What  was  he  to  do?  Teresa,  he  had  observed,  was  in  the 
habit  of  leaving  the  house  toward  afternoon ;  she  might, 
perchance,  run  danger  from  some  Cuban  emissary,  when 
the  presence  of  a  friend  might  turn  the  balance  in  her  favor : 
how,  then,  if  he  should  follow  her?  To  offer  his  company 
would  seem  like  an  intrusion ;  to  dog  her  openly  were  a  man- 
ifest impertinence ;  he  saw  himself  reduced  to  a  more  stealthy 
part,  which,  though  in  some  ways  distasteful  to  his  mind,  he 
did  not  doubt  that  he  could  practice  with  the  skill  of  a 
detective. 

The  next  day  he  proceeded  to  put  his  plan  in  action.  At 
the  corner  of  Tottenham  Court  Road,  however,  the  Senorlta 
suddenly  turned  back,  and  met  him  face  to  face,  with  every 
mark  of  pleasure  and  surprise. 

"  Ah,  Senor,  I  am  sometimes  fortunate !  "  she  cried.  "  I 
was  looking  for  a  messenger ;"  and  with  the  sweetest  of 
smiles,  she  dispatched  him  to  the  East  end  of  London,  to  an 
address  which  he  was  unable  to  find.  This  was  a  bitter  pill 
to  the  knight-errant;  but  when  he  returned  at  night,  worn 
out  with  fruitless  wandering  and  dismayed  by  liis  fiasco,  the 

503 


THE   DYNAMITER 

lady  received  him  with  a  friendly  gayety,  protesting  that  all 
was  for  the  best,  since  she  had  changed  her  mind  and  long 
since  repented  of  her  message. 

Next  day  he  resumed  his  labors,  glowing  with  pity  and 
courage,  and  determined  to  protect  Teresa  with  his  hfe. 
But  a  painful  shock  awaited  him.  In  the  narrow  and  silent 
Hanway  Street,  she  turned  suddenly  about  and  addressed 
him  with  a  manner  and  a  light  in  her  eyes,  that  were  new 
to  the  young  man's  experience. 

"  Do  I  understand  that  you  follow  me,  Senor?  "  she  cried. 
"  Are  these  the  manners  of  the  English  gentleman.?  " 

Harry  confounded  himself  in  the  most  abject  apologies 
and  prayers  to  be  forgiven,  vowed  to  offend  no  more,  and 
was  at  length  dismissed,  crestfallen  and  heavy  of  heart. 
The  check  was  final;  he  gave  up  that  road  to  service;  and 
began  once  more  to  hang  about  the  square  or  on  the  terrace, 
filled  with  remorse  and  love,  admirable  and  idiotic,  a  fit 
object  for  the  scorn  and  envy  of  older  men.  In  these  idle 
hours,  while  he  was  courting  fortune  for  a  sight  of  the  be- 
loved, it  fell  out  naturally  that  he  should  observe  the  man- 
ners and  appearance  of  such  as  came  about  the  house.  One 
person  alone  was  the  occasional  visitor  of  the  young  lady ;  a 
man  of  considerable  stature  and  distinguished  only  by  the 
doubtful  ornament  of  a  chin-beard  in  the  style  of  an  Amer- 
ican deacon.  Something  in  his  appearance  grated  upon 
Harry ;  this  distaste  grew  upon  him  in  the  course  of  days ; 
and  when  at  length  he  mustered  courage  to  inquire  of  the 
Fair  Cuban  who  this  was,  he  was  yet  more  dismayed  by  her 
reply. 

"  That  gentleman,"  said  she,  a  smile  struggling  to  her 
face,  "  that  gentleman,  I  will  not  attempt  to  conceal  from 
you,  desires  my  hand  in  marriage,  and  presses  me  with  the 
most  respectful  ardor.  Alas,  what  am  I  to  say.?  I,  the 
forlorn  Teresa,  how  shall  I  refuse  or  accept  such  protesta- 
tions.? " 

Harry  feared  to  say  more;  a  horrid  pang  of  jealousy 
transfixed  him;  and  he  had  scarce  the  strength  of  mind  to 
take  his  leave  with  decency.      In  the  solitude  of  his  o^vn 

504. 


THE    BROWN    BOX 

chamber,  he  gave  way  to  every  manifestation  of  despair. 
He  passionately  adored  the  Senorlta ;  but  it  was  not  only 
the  thought  of  her  possible  union  with  another  that  dis- 
tressed his  soul,  It  was  the  Indefeasible  conviction  that  her 
suitor  was  unworthy.  To  a  duke,  a  bishop,  a  victorious 
general,  or  any  man  adorned  with  obvious  qualities,  he  had 
resigned  her  with  a  sort  of  bitter  joy;  he  saw  himself  follow 
the  wedding  party  from  a  great  way  off;  he  saw  himself 
return  to  the  poor  house,  then  robbed  of  Its  jewel;  and 
while  he  could  have  wept  for  his  despair,  he  felt  he  could 
support  It  nobly.  But  this  affair  looked  otherwise.  The 
man  was  patently  no  gentleman ;  he  had  a  startled,  skulking, 
guilty  bearing;  his  nails  were  black,  his  eyes  evasive;  his 
love  perhaps  was  a  pretext ;  he  was,  perhaps,  under  this  deep 
disguise,  a  Cuban  emissary!  Harry  swore  that  he  would 
satisfy  these  doubts ;  and  the  next  evening  about  the  hour 
of  the  usual  visit,  he  posted  himself  at  a  spot  whence  his 
eye  commanded  the  three  issues  of  the  square. 

Presently  after,  a  four-wheeler  rumbled  to  the  door ;  and 
the  man  with  the  chin-beard  alighted,  paid  off  the  cabman, 
and  was  seen  by  Harry  to  enter  the  house  with  a  brown  box 
hoisted  on  his  back.  Half  an  hour  later,  he  came  forth 
again  without  the  box,  and  struck  eastward  at  a  rapid  walk ; 
and  Desborough,  with  the  same  skill  and  caution  that  he  had 
dlsplaj^ed  In  follov/Ing  Teresa,  proceeded  to  dog  the  steps 
of  her  admirer.  The  man  began  to  loiter,  stud3'mg  with 
apparent  Interest  the  wares  of  the  small  fruiterer  or  tobac- 
conist ;  twice  he  returned  hurriedly  upon  his  former  course ; 
and  then,  as  though  he  had  suddenly  conquered  a  moment's 
hesitation,  once  more  set  forth  with  resolute  and  swift  steps 
in  the  direction  of  Lincoln's  Inn.  At  length,  In  a  deserted 
by-street,  he  turned ;  and  coming  up  to  Harry  Avith  a  counte- 
nance which  seemed  to  have  become  older  and  whiter.  In- 
quired with  some  severity  of  speech  if  he  had  not  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  the  gentleman  before. 

"  You  have,  sir,"  said  Harry,  somewhat  abashed,  but 
with  a  good  show  of  stoutness ;  "  and  I  will  not  deny  that  I 
was  following  you  on  purpose.     Doubtless,"  he  added,  for 

505 


.THE   DYNAMITER 

he  supposed  that  all  men's  minds  must  still  be  running  on 
Teresa,  "  you  can  divine  my  reason." 

At  these  words,  the  man  with  the  chin-beard  was  seized 
with  a  palsied  tremor.  He  seemed,  for  some  seconds,  to 
seek  the  utterance  which  his  fear  denied  him ;  and  then  whip- 
ping sharply  about,  he  took  to  his  heels  at  the  most  furious 
speed  of  running. 

Harry  was  at  first  so  taken  aback  that  he  neglected  to 
pursue;  and  by  the  time  he  had  recovered  his  wits,  his  best 
expedition  was  only  rewarded  by  a  glimpse  of  the  man  with 
the  chin-beard  mounting  into  a  hansom,  which  imme- 
diately after  disappeared  into  the  moving  crowds  of 
Holborn. 

Puzzled  and  dismayed  by  this  unusual  behavior,  Harry 
returned  to  the  house  in  Queen  Square,  and  ventured  for 
the  first  time  to  knock  at  the  fair  Cuban's  door.  She  bade 
him  enter,  and  he  found  her  kneeling  with  rather  a  discon- 
solate air  beside  a  brown  wooden  trunk. 

"  Senorita,"  he  broke  out,  "  I  doubt  whether  that  man's 
character  is  what  he  wishes  you  to  believe.  His  manner, 
when  he  found,  and  indeed  when  I  admitted  that  I  was  fol' 
lowing  him,  was  not  the  manner  of  an  honest  man." 

"  Oh ! "  she  cried,  throwing  up  her  hands  as  in  despera- 
tion, "  Don  Quixote,  Don  Quixote,  have  you  again  been 
tilting  against  windmills  ?  "  And  then,  with  a  laugh,  "  Poor 
soul !  "  she  added,  "  how  you  must  have  terrified  him !  For 
know  that  the  Cuban  authorities  are  here,  and  your  poor 
Teresa  may  soon  be  hunted  down.  Even  yon  humble  clerk 
from  my  solicitor's  office,  may  find  himself  at  any  moment 
the  quarry  of  armed  spies." 

"  A  humble  clerk !  "  cried  Harry,  "  why  you  told  me  your- 
self that  he  wished  to  marry  you !  " 

"  I  thought  you  English  like  what  you  call  a  joke,"  re- 
plied the  lady,  calmly.  "  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  is  my 
lawyer's  clerk,  and  has  been  here  to-night  charged  with  dis- 
astrous news.  I  am  in  sore  straits,  Sefior  Harry.  Will  you 
help  me  ?  " 

At   this   most   welcomed   word,   the   young  man's   heart 

£06. 


THE    BROWN    BOX 

exulted ;  and  in  the  hope,  pride  and  self-esteem,  that  kindled 
with  the  very  thought  of  service,  he  forgot  to  dwell  upon 
the  lady's  jest.  "  Can  you  ask?  "  he  cried.  "  What  is  there 
that  I  can  do?     Only  tell  me  that." 

With  signs  of  an  emotion  that  was  certainly  unfeigned, 
the  fair  Cuban  laid  her  hand  upon  the  box.  "  This  box," 
she  said,  "contains  my  jewels,  papers  and  clothes;  all,  in  a 
word,  that  still  connects  me  with  Cuba  and  my  dreadful 
past.  They  must  now  be  smuggled  out  of  England;  or,  by 
the  opinion  of  my  lawyer,  I  am  lost  beyond  remedy.  To- 
morrow, on  board  the  Irish  packet,  a  sure  hand  awaits  the 
box ;  the  problem  still  unsolved,  is  to  find  some  one  to  carry 
it  as  far  as  Holyhead,  to  see  it  placed  on  board  the  steamer, 
and  instantly  return  to  town.  Will  you  be  he?  Will  you 
leave  to-morrow  by  the  first  train,  punctually  obey  orders, 
bear  still  in  mind  that  you  are  surrounded  by  Cuban  spies; 
and  without  so  much  as  a  look  behind  you,  or  a  single  move- 
ment to  betray  your  interest,  leave  the  box  where  you  have 
put  it  and  come  straight  on  shore?  Will  you  do  this,  and 
so  save  your  friend?  " 

"  I  do  not  clearly  understand  .  .  ."  began  Harry. 

"  No  more  do  I,"  replied  the  Cuban.  "  It  is  not  necessary 
that  we  should,  so  long  as  we  obey  the  lawyer's  orders." 

"  Senorita,"  returned  Harry,  gravely,  "  I  think  this,  of 
course,  a  very  little  thing  to  do  for  you,  when  I  would  will- 
ingly do  all.  But  suffer  me  to  say  one  word.  If  London  is 
unsafe  for  your  treasures,  it  can  not  long  be  safe  for  you; 
and  indeed,  if  I  at  all  fathom  the  plan  of  your  solicitor,  I 
fear  I  may  find  you  already  fled  on  my  return.  I  am  not 
considered  clever,  and  can  only  speak  out  plainly  what  is 
in  my  heart:  that  I  love  you,  and  that  I  can  not  bear  to 
lose  all  knowledge  of  you.  I  hope  no  more  than  to  be  your 
servant;  I  ask  no  more  than  just  that  I  shall  hear  of  you. 
Oh,  promise  me  so  much !  " 

"  You  shall,"  she  said,  after  a  pause.  "  I  promise  you, 
you  shall."  But  though  she  spoke  with  earnestness,  the 
marks  of  great  embarrassment  and  a  strong  conflict  of 
emotions  appeared  upon  her  face. 

507 


THE  DYNAMITER 

"  I  wish  to  tell  you,"  resumed  Desborough,  "  in  case  of 
accidents.   .  .  .'* 

"  Accidents !  "  she  cried;  "  why  do  you  say  that?  '* 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  he,  "  you  may  be  gone  before  my 
return,  and  we  may  not  meet  again  for  long.  And  so  I 
wished  you  to  know  this:  That  since  the  day  you  gave  me 
the  cigarette,  you  have  never  once,  not  once,  been  absent 
from  my  mind ;  and  if  it  will  in  any  way  serve  you,  you  may 
crumple  me  up  like  that  piece  of  paper,  and  throw  me  on 
the  fire.    I  would  love  to  die  for  you." 

"  Go !  "  she  said.  "  Go  now  at  once !  My  brain  is  in  a 
whirl.  I  scarce  know  what  we  are  talking.  Go ;  and  good- 
night ;  and  oh,  may  you  come  safe !  " 

Once  back  in  his  own  room  a  fearful  joy  possessed  the 
young  man's  mand ;  and  as  he  recalled  her  face  struck  sud- 
denly white  and  the  broken  utterance  of  her  last  words,  his 
heart  at  once  exulted  and  misgave  him.  Love  had  indeed 
looked  upon  him  with  a  tragic  mask ;  and  yet  what  mattered, 
since  at  least  it  was  love — since  at  least  she  was  commoved 
at  their  division.?  He  got  to  bed  with  these  parti-colored 
thoughts ;  passed  from  one  dream  to  another  all  night  long, 
the  white  face  of  Teresa  still  haunting  him,  wrung  with  un- 
spoken thoughts ;  and  in  the  gray  of  the  dawn,  leaped  sud- 
denly out  of  bed,  in  a  kind  of  horror.  It  was  already  time 
for  him  to  rise.  He  dressed,  made  his  breakfast  on  cold 
food  that  had  been  laid  for  him  the  night  before;  and  went 
down  to  the  room  of  his  idol  for  the  box.  The  door  was 
open ;  a  strange  disorder  reigned  within ;  the  furniture  all 
pushed  aside,  and  the  center  of  the  room  left  bare  of  im- 
pediment, as  though  for  the  pacing  of  a  creature  with  a 
tortured  mind.  There  lay  the  box,  however,  and  upon  the 
lid  a  paper  with  these  words :  "  Harry,  I  hope  to  be  back 
before  you  go.     Teresa." 

He  sat  down  to  wait,  laying  his  watch  before  him  on  the 
table.  She  had  called  him  Harry:  that  should  be  enough, 
he  thought,  to  fill  the  day  with  sunshine;  and  yet  somehow 
the  sight  of  that  disordered  room  still  poisoned  his  enjo}^- 
ment.      The  door   of  the   bedchamber   stood   gaping   open; 

508 


THE    BROWN   BOX 

and  though  he  turned  aside  his  eyes  as  from  a  sacrilege,  he 
could  not  but  observe  the  bed  had  not  been  slept  in.  He 
was  still  pondering  what  this  should  mean,  still  trying  to 
convince  himself  that  all  was  well,  when  the  moving  needle 
of  his  watch  summoned  him  to  set  forth  without  delay.  He 
was  before  all  tilings  a  man  of  his  word ;  ran  round  to 
Southampton  Row  to  fetch  a  cab ;  and  taking  the  box  on 
the  front  seat,  drove  off  toward  the  terminus. 

The  streets  were  scarcely  awake;  there  was  little  to  amuse 
the  eye;  and  the  young  man's  attention  centered  on  the 
dumb  companion  of  his  drive.  A  card  was  nailed  upon  one 
side,  bearing  the  superscription :  "  Miss  Doolan,  passenger 
to  Dublin.  Glass.  With  care."  He  thought  with  a  senti- 
mental shock  that  the  fair  idol  of  his  heart  M'as  perhaps 
driven  to  adopt  the  name  of  Doolan ;  and  as  he  still  studied 
the  card,  he  was  aware  of  a  deadly,  black  depression  settling 
steadily  upon  his  spirits.  It  was  in  vain  for  him  to  contend 
against  the  tide;  in  vain  that  he  shook  himself  or  tried  to 
whistk:  the  sense  of  some  impending  blow  was  not  to  be 
averted.  He  looked  out ;  in  the  long,  empty  streets,  the  cab 
pursued  its  way  without  a  trace  of  any  follower.  He  gave 
ear;  and  over  and  above  the  jolting  of  the  wheels  upon  the 
road,  he  was  conscious  of  a  certain  regular  and  quiet  sound 
that  seemed  to  issue  from  the  box.  He  put  his  ear  to  the 
cover;  at  one  moment,  he  seemed  to  perceive  a  delicate  tick- 
ing: the  next,  the  sound  was  gone,  nor  could  his  closest 
hearkening  recapture  it.  He  laughed  at  himself;  but  still 
the  gloom  continued ;  and  it  was  with  more  than  the  com- 
mon relief  of  an  arrival  that  he  leaped  from  the  cab  before 
the  station. 

Probably  enough  on  purpose,  Teresa  had  named  an  hour 
some  thirty  minutes  earlier  than  needful ;  and  when  Harry 
had  given  the  box  into  the  charge  of  a  porter,  who  sat  it  on 
a  truck,  he  proceeded  briskly  to  pace  the  platform.  Pres- 
ently the  bookstall  opened;  and  the  young  man  was  looking 
at  the  books  when  he  was  seized  by  the  arm.  He  turned,  and, 
though  she  was  closely  veiled,  at  once  recognized  the  Fair 
Cuban. 

509 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  Where  Is  it  ?  "  she  asked ;  and  the  sound  of  her  voice 
surprised  him. 

"It?  "he  said.     "What?" 

"  The  box.  Have  it  put  on  a  cab  instantly.  I  am  in 
fearful  haste." 

He  hurried  to  obey,  marveling  at  these  changes  but  not 
daring  to  trouble  her  with  questions;  and  when  the  cab  had 
been  brought  round,  and  the  box  mounted  on  the  front,  she 
passed  a  little  way  off  upon  the  pavement  and  beckoned  him 
to  follow. 

"  Now,"  said  she,  still  in  those  mechanical  and  hushed 
tones  that  had  at  first  affected  him,  "  you  must  go  on  to 
Holyhead  alone;  go  on  board  the  steamer;  and  if  you  see  a 
man  in  tartan  trowsers  and  a  pink  scarf,  say  to  him  that 
all  has  been  put  off:  if  not,"  she  added,  with  a  sobbing  sigh, 
"  it  does  not  matter.     So,  good-by." 

"  Teresa,"  said  Harry,  "  get  into  your  cab,  and  I  will 
go  along  with  you.  You  are  in  some  distress,  perhaps  some 
danger;  and  till  I  know  the  whole,  not  even  you  can  make 
me  leave  you." 

"  You  will  not  ? "  she  asked.  "  Oh,  Harry,  it  were 
better !  " 

"  I  will  not,"  said  Harry,  stoutly. 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  through  her  veil;  took 
his  hand  suddenly  and  sharply,  but  more  as  if  in  fear  than 
tenderness ;  and  still  holding  him,  walked  to  the  cab-door. 

"  Where  are  we  to  drive  ?  "  asked  Harry. 

'*  Home,  quickly,"  she  answered ;  "  double  fare ! "  And 
as  soon  as  they  had  both  mounted  to  their  places,  the  vehicle 
crazily  trundled  from  the  station. 

Teresa  leaned  back  in  a  corner.  The  whole  way  Harry 
could  perceive  her  tears  to  flow  under  her  veil ;  but  she  vouch- 
safed no  explanation.  At  the  door  of  the  house  in  Queen 
Square  both  alighted;  and  the  cabman  lowered  the  box, 
which  Harry,  glad  to  display  his  strength,  received  upon  his 
shoulders. 

"  Let  the  man  take  it,"  she  whispered.  "  Let  the  man 
take  it." 

510 


THE   BROWN   BOX 

"  I  will  do  no  such  thing,"  said  Harry  cheerfully ;  and 
having  paid  the  fare,  he  followed  Teresa  through  the  door 
which  she  had  opened  with  her  key.  The  landlady  and 
maid  were  gone  upon  their  morning  ei'rands ;  the  house  was 
empty  and  still;  and  as  the  rattling  of  the  cab  died  away 
down  Gloucester  Street,  and  Harry  continued  to  ascend  the 
stair  with  his  burden,  he  heard  close  against  his  shoulders 
the  same  faint  and  muffled  ticking  as  before.  The  lady,  still 
preceding  him,  opened  the  door  of  her  room,  and  helped  him 
to  lower  the  box  tenderly  in  the  corner  by  the  window. 

"  And  now,"  said  Harry,  "  what  is  wrong.'*  " 

"  You  will  not  go  away .''  "  she  cried,  with  a  sudden  break 
in  her  voice  and  beating  her  hands  together  in  the  very 
agony  of  impatience.  "  Oh !  Harry,  Harry,  go  away !  Oh  1 
go,  and  leave  me  to  the  fate  that  I  deserve !  " 

"  The  fate.?  "  repeated  Harry.     "  What  is  this.?  " 

"  No  fate,"  she  resumed.  "  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  say- 
ing. But  I  wish  to  be  alone.  You  may  come  back  this  even- 
ing, Harry ;  come  again  when  you  like ;  but  leave  me  now, 
only  leave  me  now ! "  And  then  suddenly,  "  I  have  an 
errand,"  she  exclaimed ;  "  you  can  not  refuse  me  that !  " 

"  No,"  replied  Harry,  "  you  have  no  errand.  You 
are  in  grief  or  danger.  Lift  your  veil  and  tell  me  what 
it  is." 

"  Then,"  she  said,  with  a  sudden  composure,  "  you  leave 
but  one  course  open  to  me."  And  raising  the  veil,  she 
showed  him  a  countenance  from  which  every  trace  of  color 
had  fled,  eyes  marred  with  weeping,  and  a  brow  on  which 
resolve  had  conquered  fear.  "  Harry,"  she  began,  "  I  am 
not  what  I  seem." 

"  You  have  told  me  that  before,"  said  Harry,  "  several 
times." 

"  Oh !  Harry,  Harry,"  she  cried,  "  how  you  shame  me ! 
But  this  is  the  God's  truth.  I  am  a  dangerous  and  wicked 
girl.  My  name  is  Clara  Luxmore.  I  was  never  nearer  Cuba 
than  Penzance.  From  first  to  last  I  have  cheated  and  played 
with  you.  And  what  I  am  I  dare  not  even  name  to  you  in 
words.     Indeed,  until  to-day,  until  the  sleepless  watches  of 

511 


THE   DYNAMITER 

last  night,  I  never  grasped  the  depth  and  fouhiess  of  my 
guilt." 

The  young  man  looked  upon  her  aghast.  Then  a  gener- 
ous current  poured  along  his  veins.  "  That  is  all  one,"  he 
said.  "  If  you  be  all  you  say,  you  have  the  greater  need 
of  me." 

"  Is  it  possible,"  she  exclaimed,  "  that  I  have  schemed  in 
vain?  And  will  nothing  drive  you  from  this  house  of 
death ! " 

"Of  death?"  he  echoed. 

"  Death !  "  she  cried ;  "  death !  In  that  box  that  you  have 
dragged  about  London  and  carried  on  your  defenseless 
shoulders,  sleeps,  at  the  trigger's  mercy,  the  destroying 
energies  of  dynamite." 

"  My  God !  "  cried  Harry. 

"  Ah!  "  she  continued  wildly,  "  will  you  flee  now?  At  any 
moment  you  may  hear  the  click  that  sounds  the  ruin  of  this 
building.  I  was  sure  M'Guire  was  wrong;  this  morning, 
before  day,  I  flew  to  Zero ;  he  confirmed  my  fears ;  I  beheld 
you,  my  beloved  Harry,  fall  a  victim  to  my  own  con- 
trivances. I  knew  then  I  loved  you — Harry,  will  you  go 
now?    Will  you  not  spare  me  this  unwilling  crime?  " 

Harry  remained  speechless,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  box: 
.  at  last  he  turned  to  her. 

"Is  it,"  he  asked  hoarsely,  "an  infernal  machine?" 

Her  lips  formed  the  word  "  yes  " ;  which  her  voice  refused 
to  utter. 

With  fearful  curiosity,  he  drew  near  and  bent  above  the 
box :  in  that  still  chamber,  the  ticking  was  distinctly  audible ; 
and  at  the  measured  sound,  the  blood  flowed  back  upon  his 
heart. 

"  For  whom  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  What  matters  it  ?  "  she  cried,  seizing  him  by  the  arm. 
"  If  you  may  still  be  saved,  what  matters  questions  ?  " 

"  God  in  Heaven !  "  cried  Harry.  "  And  the  children's 
hospital!  At  whatever  cost,  this  damned  contrivance  must 
be  stopped !  " 

"  It  can  not,"  she  gasped.     "  The  power  of  man  can  not 

512 


THE   BROWN   BOX 

avert  the  blow.  But  you,  Harry — you,  my  beloved — you 
may  still " 

And  then  from  the  box  that  lay  so  quietly  in  the  corner, 
a  sudden  catch  was  audible,  like  the  catch  of  a  clock  before 
it  strikes  the  hour.  For  one  second,  the  two  stared  at  each 
other  with  lifted  brows  and  stony  eyes.  Then  .Harry,  throw- 
ing one  arm  over  his  face,  with  the  other  clutched  the  girl 
to  his  breast  and  staggered  against  the  wall. 

A  dull  and  startling  thud  resounded  through  the  room; 
their  eyes  blinked  against  the  coming  horror ;  and  still  cling- 
ing together  like  drowning  people,  they  fell  to  the  floor. 
Then  followed  a  prolonged  and  strident  hissing  as  from  the 
indignant  pit ;  an  offensive  stench  seized  them  by  the  throat ; 
the  room  was  filled  with  dense  and  choking  fumes. 

Presently  these  began  a  little  to  disperse;  and  when  at 
length  they  drew  themselves,  all  limp  and  shaken,  to  a  sitting 
posture,  the  first  object  that  greeted  their  vision  was  the  box 
reposing  uninjured  in  its  corner,  but  still  leaking  little 
wi'eaths  of  vapor  round  the  lid. 

"  Oh,  poor  Zero !  "  cried  the  girl  with  a  strange  sobbing 
laugh.     "  Alas,  poor  Zero!     This  will  break  his  heart!  " 


518 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION    (cOUcluded) 

Sf>MERSET  ran  straight  up  stairs;  the  door  of  the 
irawing-room,  contrary  to  all  custom,  was  unlocked; 
and  bursting  in,  the  young  man  found  Zero  seated  on  a 
soff.  in  an  attitude  of  singular  dejection.  Close  beside  him 
stood  an  untasted  grog,  the  mark  of  strong  preoccupation. 
The  room  besides  was  in  confusion ;  boxes  had  been  tumbled 
to  and  fro ;  the  floor  was  strewn  with  keys  and  other 
implements ;  and  in  the  midst  of  this  disorder,  lay  a  lady's 
glove. 

"  I  have  come,"  cried  Somerset,  "  to  make  an  end  of  this. 
Either  you  will  instantly  abandon  all  your  schemes,  or  (cost 
what  it  may)  I  will  denounce  you  to  the  police." 

"  Ah !  "  replied  Zero,  slowly  shaking  his  head.  "  You  are 
too  late,  dear  fellow !  I  am  already  at  the  end  of  all  my 
hopes  and  fallen  to  be  a  laughing-stock  and  mockery.  My 
reading,"  he  added,  with  a  gentle  despondency  of  manner, 
"  has  not  been  much  among  romances ;  yet  I  recall  from  one 
a  phrase  that  depicts  my  present  state  with  critical  exacti- 
tude ;  and  you  behold  me  sitting  here  '  like  a  burst  drum.'  " 

"What  has  befallen  you?"  cried  Somerset. 

"  My  last  batch,"  returned  the  plotter,  wearily,  "  like 
all  the  others,  is  a  hollow  mockery  and  a  fraud.  In  vain  do 
I  combine  the  elements;  in  vain  adjust  the  springs;  and  I 
have  now  arrived  at  such  a  pitch  of  disconsideration  that 
(except  yourself,  dear  fellow)  I  do  not  know  a  soul  that  I 
can  face.  My  subordinates  themselves  have  turned  upon 
me.  What  language  have  I  heard  to-day,  what  ilhberality 
of  sentiment,  what  pungency  of  expression !  She  came  once ; 
1  could  have  pardoned  that,  for  she  was  moved;  but  she 
returned,  returned  to  announce  to  me  this  crushing  blow; 
and,  Somerset,  she  was  very  inhumane.     Yes,  dear  fellow, 

514 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

I  have  drunk  a  bitter  cup ;  the  speech  of  females  Is  remarlc- 
able  for  .  .  .  well,  well !  Denounce  me,  if  you  will,  you  but 
denounce  the  dead.  I  am  extinct.  It  is  strange  how,  at  this 
supreme  crisis  of  my  life,  I  should  be  haunted  by  quotations 
from  works  of  an  inexact  and  even  fanciful  description ;  but 
here,"  he  added,  "  is  another :  '  Othello's  occupation's  gone.' 
Yes,  dear  Somerset,  it  is  gone;  I  am  no  more  a  dynamiter; 
and  how,  I  ask  you,  after  having  tasted  of  these  joys,  am  I 
to  condescend  to  a  less  glorious  life?  " 

"  I  can  not  describe  how  you  relieve  me,"  returned  Som- 
erset, sitting  down  on  one  of  the  several  boxes  that  had  been 
drawn  out  into  the  middle  of  the  floor.  "  I  had  conceived 
a  sort  of  maudlin  toleration  for  your  character;  I  have  a 
great  distaste,  besides,  for  any  thing  in  the  nature  of  a 
duty;  and  upon  both  grounds,  your  news  delights  me.  But 
I  seem  to  perceive,"  he  added,  "  a  certain  sound  of  ticking  in 
this  box." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Zero,  with  the  same  slow  weariness  of 
manner,  "  I  have  set  several  of  them  going." 

"  My  God ! "  cried  Somerset,  bounding  to  his  feet. 
"  Machines  ?  " 

"  Machines  !  "  returned  the  plotter,  bitterly.  "  Machines 
indeed !  I  blush  to  be  their  author.  Alas  !  "  he  said,  bury- 
ing his  face  in  his  hands,  "  that  I  should  live  to  say  it !  " 

"  Madman !  "  cried  Somerset,  shaking  him  by  the  arm. 
*' What  am  I  to  understand.''  Have  you,  indeed,  set  these 
diabolical  contrivances  in  motion,  and  do  we  stay  here  to  be 
blown  up  .f*  " 

"  *  Hoist  with  his  own  petard  '  ?  "  returned  the  plotter 
musingly.  "  One  more  quotation  :  strange !  But  Indeed  my 
brain  is  struck  with  numbness.  Yes,  dear  boy,  I  have,  as 
you  say,  put  my  contrivance  in  motion.  The  one  on  which 
you  are  sitting,  I  have  timed  for  half  an  hour.  Yon 
other " 

"  Half  an  hour !  "  echoed  Somerset,  dancing  with  trepida- 
tion.    "  Merciful  Heavens,  in  half  an  hour !  " 

"Dear  fellow,  why  so  much  excitement.''"  inquired  Zero. 
*'  My  dynamite  is  not  more  dangerous  than  toffy ;  had  I  an 

515 


-THE   DYNAMITER 

only  child  I  would  give  it  him  to  play  with.  You  see  this 
brick?  "  he  continued,  lifting  a  cake  of  the  infernal  com- 
pound from  the  laboratory  table ;  "  at  a  touch  it  should  ex- 
plode, and  that  with  such  unconquerable  energy  as  should 
bestrew  the  square  with  ruins.  Well,  now,  behold !  I  dash  it 
on  the  floor." 

Somerset  sprang  forward,  and  with  the  strength  of  the 
very  ecstasy  of  terror,  wrested  the  brick  from  his  posses- 
sion. "  Heavens !  "  he  cried,  wiping  his  brow,  and  then  with 
more  care  than  ever  mother  handled  her  firstborn  withal, 
gingerly  transported  the  explosive  to  the  far  end  of  the 
apartment,  the  plotter,  his  arms  once  more  fallen  to  his 
side,  dispiritedly  watching  him. 

"  It  was  entirely  harmless,"  he  sighed.  "  They  describe 
it  as  burning  like  tobacco." 

"  In  the  name  of  fortune,"  cried  Somerset,  "  what  have 
I  done  to  you,  or  what  have  you  done  to  yourself,  that  you 
should  persist  in  this  insane  behavior.''  If  not  for  your  own 
sake,  then  for  mine,  let  us  depart  from  this  doomed  house, 
where  I  profess  I  have  not  the  heart  to  leave  you;  and  then, 
if  you  will  take  my  advice,  and  if  your  determination  be 
sincere,  you  will  instantly  quit  this  city,  where  no  further 
occupation  can  detain  you." 

"  Such,  dear  fellow,  was  my  own  design,"  replied  the  plot- 
ter. "  I  have,  as  you  observe,  no  further  business  here,  and 
once  I  have  packed  a  little  bag  I  shall  ask  you  to  share  a 
frugal  meal,  to  go  with  me  as  far  as  to  the  station  and  see 
the  last  of  a  broken-hearted  man.  And  yet,"  he  added,  look- 
ing on  the  boxes  with  a  lingering  regret,  "  I  should  have 
liked  to  make  quite  certain.  I  can  not  but  suspect  my 
underlings  of  some  mismanagement ;  it  may  be  fond,  but  yet 
I  cherish  that  idea :  it  may  be  the  weakness  of  a  man  of 
science,  but  yet,"  he  cried,  rising  into  some  energy,  "  I 
will  never,  I  can  not  if  I  try,  believe  that  my  poor  dynamite 
has  had  fair  usage !  " 

"  Five  minutes !  "  said  Somerset,  glancing  with  horror  at 
the  timepiece.  "  If  you  do  not  instantly  buckle  to  your 
bag,  I  leave  you." 

'516 


THE   SUPERFLUOUS   MANSION 

"  A  few  necessaries,"  returned  Zero,  "  only  a  few  neces- 
saries, dear  Somerset,  and  j'ou  behold  me  ready." 

He  passed  into  the  bedroom,  and  after  an  interval  which 
seemed  to  draw  out  into  eternity  for  his  unfortunate  com- 
panion, he  returned,  bearing  in  his  hand  an  open  Gladstone 
bag.  His  movements  were  still  horribly  deliberate,  and  his 
eyes  lingered  gloatingly  on  his  dear  boxes,  as  he  moved  to 
and  fro  about  the  drawing-room,  gathering  a  few  small 
trifles.     Last  of  all,  he  lifted  one  of  the  squares  of  dynamite. 

"  Put  that  down !  "  cried  Somerset.  "  If  what  you  say 
be  true,  you  have  no  call  to  load  yourself  with  that  ungodly 
contraband." 

"  Merely  a  curiosity,  dear  boy,"  he  said  persuasively,  and 
slipped  the  brick  into  his  bag ;  "  merely  a  memento  of  the 
past — ah,  happy  past,  bright  past!  You  will  not  take  a 
touch  of  spirits?  no?  I  find  you  very  abstemious.  Well," 
he  added,  '*  if  you  have  really  no  curiosity  to  await  the 
event " 

"  I !  "  cried  Somerset.     "  My  blood  boils  to  get  away." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Zero,  "  I  am  ready ;  I  would  I  could 
say,  willing;  but  thus  to  leave  the  scene  of  my  sublime 
endeavors " 

Without  further  parley,  Somerset  seized  him  by  the  arm, 
and  dragged  him  down  stairs ;  the  hall-door  shut  with  a 
clang  on  the  deserted  mansion ;  and  still  towing  his  lag- 
gardly  companion,  the  young  man  sped  across  the  square 
in  the  Oxford  Street  direction.  They  had  not  yet  passed 
the  corner  of  the  garden,  when  they  were  arrested  by  a  dull 
thud  of  an  extraordinary  amplitude  of  sound,  accompanied 
and  followed  by  a  shattering  fracas.  Somerset  turned  in 
time  to  see  the  mansion  rend  in  twain,  vomit  forth  flames  and 
smoke,  and  instantly  collapse  into  its  cellars.  At  the  same 
moment,  he  was  thrown  violently  to  the  ground.  His  first 
glance  was  towards  Zero.  The  plotter  had  but  reeled  against 
the  garden  rail ;  he  stood  there,  the  Gladstone  bag  clasped 
tight  upon  his  heart,  his  whole  face  radiant  with  relief  and 
gratitude;  and  the  young  man  heard  him  murrr'^r  to  him- 
self:  "  Nunc  dimittis,  nunc  dimittis!  " 

517 


,THE   DYNAMITER 

The  consternation  of  the  populace  was  indescribable;  the 
whole  of  Golden  Square  was  alive  with  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, running  wildly  to  and  fro,  and  like  rabbits  in  a  warren, 
dashing  in  and  out  of  the  house  doors.  And  under  favor 
of  this  confusion,  Somerset  dragged  away  the  lingering 
plotter. 

"  It  was  grand,"  he  continued  to  murmur :  "  it  was  inde- 
scribably grand.  Ah,  green  Erin,  green  Erin,  what  a  day 
of  glory;  and  oh,  my  calumniated  dynamite,  how  trium- 
phantly hast  thou  prevailed !  " 

Suddenly  a  shade  crossed  his  face;  and  pausing  in  the 
middle  of  the  footway,  he  consulted  the  dial  of  his  watch. 

"  Good  God !  "  he  cried,  "  how  mortifying !  seven  minutes 
too  early !  The  dynamite  surpassed  my  hopes ;  but  the  clock- 
work, fickle  clockwork,  has  once  more  betrayed  me.  Alas, 
can  there  be  no  success  unmixed  with  failure?  and  must  even 
this  red-letter-day  be  checkered  by  a  shadow.?  " 

"  Incomparable  ass !  "  said  Somerset,  "  what  have  you 
done?  Blown  up  the  house  of  an  unoffending  old  lady,  and 
the  whole  property  of  the  only  person  who  is  fool  enough  to 
befriend  you !  " 

"  You  do  not  understand  these  matters,"  replied  Zero, 
with  an  air  of  great  dignity.  "  This  will  shake  England  to 
the  heart.  Gladstone  the  truculent  old  man,  will  quail  before 
the  pointing  finger  of  revenge.  And  now  that  my  dynamite 
is  proved  effective " 

"  Heavens,  you  remind  me!  "  ejaculated  Somerset.  "  That 
brick  in  your  bag  must  be  instantly  disposed  of.  But  how? 
If  we  could  throw  it  in  the  river " 

"  A  torpedo,"  cried  Zero,  brightening,  "  a  torpedo  in  the 
Thames !  Superb,  dear  fellow !  I  recognize  in  you  the 
marks  of  an  accomplished  anarch." 

"  True !  "  returned  Somerset.  "  It  can  not  so  be  done ; 
and  there  is  no  help  but  you  must  carry  it  away  with 
you.  Come  on,  then,  and  let  me  at  once  consign  you  to 
a  train." 

"  Nay,  nay,  dear  boy,"  protested  Zero.  "  There  is  now 
no  call  for  me  to  leave.     My  character  is  now  reinstated; 

518 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

my  fame  brightens ;  this  is  the  best  thing  I  have  done  yet ; 
and  I  see  from  here  the  ovations  that  await  the  author  of 
the  Golden  Square  Atrocity." 

"  My  young  friend,"  returned  the  other,  "  I  give  you 
your  choice.  I  will  either  see  you  safe  on  board  a  train  or 
safe  in  gaol." 

"  Somerset,  this  is  unlike  you !  "  said  the  chymist.  *'  You 
surprise  me,  Somerset." 

"  I  shall  considerably  more  surprise  you  at  the  next  police 
office,"  returned  Somerset,  with  something  bordering  on 
rage.  "  For  on  one  point  my  mind  Is  settled :  either  I  see 
you  packed  off  to  America,  brick  and  all,  or  else  you  dine 
in  prison." 

"  You  have  perhaps  neglected  one  point,"  returned  the 
unofFended  Zero :  "  for,  speaking  as  a  philosopher,  I  fail  to 
see  what  means  you  can  employ  to  force  me.  The  will,  my 
dear  fellow " 

"  Now,  see  here,"  interrupted  Somerset.  "  You  are  Igno- 
rant of  any  thing  but  science,  which  I  can  never  regard  as 
being  truly  knowledge ;  I,  sir,  have  studied  life ;  and  allow 
me  to  Inform  you  that  I  have  but  to  raise  my  hand  and 
voice — here  in  this  street — and  the  mob " 

"  Good  God  in  heaven,  Somerset ! "  cried  Zero,  turning 
deadly  white  and  stopping  In  his  walk,  "  great  God  in 
heaven,  what  words  are  these!  Oh  not  In  jest,  not  even  in 
jest,  should  they  be  used!  The  brutal  mob,  the  savage  pas- 
sions ....  Somerset,  for  God's  sake,  a  public- 
house  ! " 

Somerset  considered  him  with  freshly  awakened  curiosity. 
"  This  Is  very  interesting,"  said  he.  "  You  recoil  from  such 
a  death.?" 

"  Who  would  not.?  "  asked  the  plotter. 

"  And  to  be  blown  up  by  dynamite,"  inquired  the  young 
man,  "  doubtless  strikes  you  as  a  form  of  euthanasia?  " 

"  Pardon  me,"  returned  Zero :  "  I  own,  and  since  I  have 
braved  it  daily  in  my  professional  career,  I  own  it  even  with 
pride:  it  is  a  death  unusually  distasteful  to  the  mind  of 
man." 

519 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"One  more  question,"  said  Somerset:  "you  object  to 
Lynch  Law?  why?  " 

"  It  is  assassination,"  said  the  plotter  calmly ;  but  with 
eyebrows  a  little  lifted,  as  in  wonder  at  the  question. 

"  Shake  hands  with  me,"  cried  Somerset.  "  Thank  God,  I 
have  now  no  ill-feeling  left  and  though  you  can  not  conceive 
how  I  burn  to  see  you  on  the  gallows,  I  can  quite  content- 
edly assist  at  your  departure." 

"  I  do  not  very  clearly  take  your  meaning,"  said  Zero, 
"  but  I  am  sure  you  mean  kindly.  As  to  my  departure, 
there  is  another  point  to  be  considered.  I  have  neglected 
to  supply  myself  with  funds ;  my  little  all  has  perished  in 
what  history  will  love  to  relate  under  the  name  of  the  Golden 
Square  Atrocity ;  and  without  what  is  coarsely  if  vigorouslj^ 
called  stamps,  you  must  be  well  aware  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  pass  the  ocean." 

"  For  me,"  said  Somerset,  "  you  have  now  ceased  to  be  a 
man.  You  have  no  more  claim  upon  me  than  a  door  scraper ; 
but  the  touching  confusion  of  your  mind  disarms  me  from 
extremities.  Until  to-day,  I  always  thought  stupidity  was 
funny;  I  now  know  otherwise;  and  when  I  look  upon  your 
idiot  face,  laughter  rises  within  me  like  a  deadly  sickness, 
and  the  tears  spring  up  into  my  eyes  as  bitter  as  blood. 
What  should  this  portend?  I  begin  to  doubt;  I  am  losing 
faith  in  skepticism.  Is  it  possible,"  he  cried,  in  a  kind  of 
horror  of  himself — "  is  it  conceivable  that  I  believe  in  right 
and  wrong?  Already  I  have  found  myself,  with  incredulous 
surprise,  to  be  the  victim  of  a  prejudice  of  personal  honor. 
And  must  this  change  proceed?  Have  you  robbed  me  of 
my  youth?  Must  I  fall,  at  my  time  of  life,  into  the  Com- 
mon Banker?  But  why  should  I  address  that  head  of  wood? 
Let  this  suffice.  I  dare  not  let  you  stay  among  women  and 
children ;  I  lack  the  courage  to  denounce  you,  if  by  any 
means  I  may  avoid  it;  you  have  no  money:  well  then,  take 
mine,  and  go ;  and  if  ever  I  behold  your  face  after  to-day, 
that  day  will  be  your  last." 

"  Under  the  circumstances,"  replied  Zero,  "  I  scarce  see 
my  way  to  refuse  your  offer.     Your  expressions  may  pain, 

520 


THE    SUPERFLUOUS    MANSION 

they  can  not  surprise  me ;  I  am  aware  our  point  of  view 
requires  a  little  training,  a  little  moral  hygiene,  if  I  may  so 
express  it ;  and  one  of  the  points  that  has  always  charmed 
me  in  your  character,  is  this  delightful  frankness.  As  for 
the  small  advance,  it  shall  be  remitted  you  from  Philadel- 
phia." 

"  It  shall  not,"  said  Somerset. 

"  Dear  fellow,  you  do  not  understand,"  returned  the  plot- 
ter. "  I  shall  now  be  received  with  fresh  confidence  by  my 
superiors ;  and  my  experiments  will  be  no  longer  hampered 
by  pitiful  conditions  of  the  purse." 

"  What  I  am  now^  about,  sir,  is  a  crime,"  replied  Somer- 
set ;  "  and  were  you  to  roll  in  wealth  like  Vanderbilt,  I  should 
scorn  to  be  reimbursed  of  money  I  had  so  scandalously  mis- 
applied. Take  it,  and  keep  it.  By  George,  sir,  three  days 
of  you  have  transformed  me  to  an  ancient  Roman." 

With  these  words,  Somerset  hailed  a  passing  hansom ; 
and  the  pair  were  driven  rapidly  to  the  railway  terminus. 
There,  an  oath  having  been  exacted,  the  money  changed 
hands. 

"  And  now,"  said  Somerset,  "  I  have  bought  back  my 
honor  with  every  penny  I  possess.  And  I  thank  God,  though 
there  is  nothing  before  me  but  starvation,  I  am  free  from  all 
entanglement  with  Mr.  Zero  Pumpernickel  Jones." 

"  To  starve !  "  cried  Zero.  "  Dear  fellow,  I  can  not 
endure  the  thought." 

"  Take  your  ticket !  "  returned  Somerset. 

"  I  think  you  display  temper,"  said  Zero. 

"  Take  j^our  ticket,"  reiterated  the  young  man. 

"  Well,"  said  the  plotter,  as  he  returned,  ticket  in  hand, 
*'  your  attitude  is  so  strange  and  painful,  that  I  scarce  know 
if  I  should  ask  you  to  shake  hands." 

"  As  a  man,  no,"  replied  Somerset ;  "  but  I  have  no  ob- 
jection to  shake  hands  with  you,  as  I  might  with  a  pump-well 
that  ran  poison  or  hell-fire." 

"  This  is  a  very  cold  parting,"  sighed  the  dynamiter ;  and 
still  followed  by  Somerset,  he  began  to  descend  the  platform. 
This  was  now  bustling  with  passengers ;  the  train  for  Liver- 

521 


THE   DYNAMITER 

pool  was  just  about  to  start,  another  had  but  recently  ar- 
rived; and  the  double  tide  made  movement  difficult.  As  the 
pair  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the  bookstall,  however,  they 
came  into  an  open  space;  and  here  the  attention  of  the 
plotter  was  attracted  by  a  Standard  broadside  bearing  the 
words :  "  Second  Edition :  Explosion  in  Golden  Square." 
His  eye  lighted;  groping  in  his  pocket  for  the  necessary 
coin,  he  sprang  forward — his  bag  knocked  sharply  on  the 
corner  of  the  stall — and  instantly,  with  a  formidable  report, 
the  dynamite  exploded.  When  the  smoke  cleared  away  the 
stall  was  seen  much  shattered,  and  the  stall-keeper  running 
forth  in  terror  from  the  ruins ;  but  of  the  Irish  patriot  or 
the  Gladstone  bag  no  adequate  remains  were  to  be  found. 

In  the  first  scramble  of  the  alarm,  Somerset  made  good 
his  escape,  and  came  out  upon  the  Euston  Road,  his  head 
spinning,  his  body  sick  with  hunger,  and  his  pockets  desti- 
tute of  coin.  Yet  as  he  continued  to  walk  the  pavements, 
he  wondered  to  find  in  his  heart  a  sort  of  peaceful  exultation, 
a  great  content,  a  sense,  as  it  were,  of  divine  presence  and 
the  kindliness  of  fate;  and  he  was  able  to  tell  himself  that 
even  if  the  worst  befell,  he  could  now  starve  with  a  certain 
comfort  since  Zero  was  expunged. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  he  found  himself  at  the  door  of 
Mr.  Godall's  shop ;  and  being  quite  unmanned  by  his  long 
fast,  and  scarce  considering  what  he  did,  he  opened  the  glass 
door  and  entered. 

"Ha!"  said  Mr.  Godall,  «  Mr.  Somerset!  WeU,  have 
you  met  with  an  adventure.''  Have  you  the  promised  story.'* 
Sit  down,  if  you  please ;  suffer  me  to  choose  you  a  cigar  of 
my  own  special  brand,  and  reward  me  with  a  narrative  in 
your  best  style." 

"  I  must  not  take  a  cigar,"  said  Somerset. 

"  Indeed !  "  said  Mr.  Godall.  "  But  now  I  come  to  look 
at  you  more  closely,  I  perceive  that  you  are  changed.  My 
poor  boy,  I  hope  there  is  nothing  wrong?  " 

Somerset  burst  into  tears. 


Sisa 


EPILOGUE    OF    THE    CIGAR    DIVAN 

ON  a  certain  day  of  lashing  rain  in  the  December  of  last 
year,  and  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten  in  the 
morning,  Mr.  Edward  Challoner  pioneered  himself  under  an 
umbrella  to  the  door  of  the  Cigar  Divan  in  Rupert  Street. 
It  was  a  place  he  had  visited  but  once  before :  the  memory  of 
what  had  followed  on  that  visit  and  the  fear  of  Somerset, 
having  prevented  his  return.  Even  now,  he  looked  in  before 
he  entered ;  but  the  shop  was  free  of  customers. 

The  young  man  behind  the  counter  was  so  intently  writing 
In  a  penny-version  book,  that  he  paid  no  heed  to  Challoner's 
arrival.  On  a  second  glance,  it  seemed  to  the  latter  that  he 
recognized  him. 

*'  By  Jove,"  he  thought,  "  unquestionably  Somerset !  " 

And  though  this  was  the  very  man  he  had  been  so  sedu- 
lously careful  to  avoid,  his  unexplained  position  at  the 
receipt  of  custom  changed  distaste  to  curiosity. 

"  '  Or  opulent  rotunda  strike  the  sky,'  "  said  the  shopman 
to  himself,  in  the  tone  of  one  considering  a  verse.  "  I  sup- 
pose it  would  be  too  much  to  say  '  orotunda,'  and  yet  how 
noble  it  were !  '  Or  opulent  orotunda  strike  the  sky.  But 
that  is  the  bitterness  of  arts ;  you  see  a  good  effect,  and 
some  nonsense  about  sense  continually  intervenes." 

"  Somerset,  my  dear  fellow,"  said  Challoner,  "  is  this  a 
masquerade.''  " 

"What.?  Challoner!"  cried  the  shopman.  "I  am  de- 
lighted to  see  you.  One  moment,  till  I  finish  the  octave  of 
my  sonnet:  only  the  octave."  And  with  a  friendly  waggle 
of  the  hand,  he  once  more  buried  himself  in  the  commerce 
of  the  Muses.  "  I  say,"  he  said  presently,  looking  up,  "  you 
seem  in  wonderful  preservation :  how  about  the  hundred 
pounds  ?  " 

523 


,THE  dyna:miter 

"  I  have  made  a  small  inheritance  from  a  great-aunt  in 
Wales,"  replied  Challoner  modestly. 

"  Ah,"  said  Somerset,  "  I  very  much  doubt  the  legitimacy 
of  inheritance.  The  State,  in  my  view,  should  collar  it.  I 
am  now  going  through  a  stage  of  socialism  and  poetry," 
he  added  apologetically,  as  one  who  spoke  of  a  course  of 
medicinal  waters. 

"  And  are  you  really  the  person  of  the — establishment?  " 
inquired  Challoner,  deftly  evading  the  word  "  shop." 

"  A  vendor,  sir,  a  vendor,"  returned  the  other,  pocketing 
his  poesy.  "  I  help  old  Happy  and  Glorious.  Can  I  offer 
you  a  weed?  " 

"  Well,  I  scarcely  like     ..."  began  Challoner. 

"  Nonsense,  my  dear  fellow,"  cried  the  shopman.  "  We 
are  very  proud  of  the  business ;  and  the  old  man,  let  me 
inform  you,  besides  being  the  most  egregious  of  created 
beings  from  the  point  of  view  of  ethics,  is  literally  sprung 
from  the  loins  of  kings.  '  De  Godall  je  suis  le  fervent.' 
There  is  only  one  Godall. — By  the  way,"  he  added,  as  Chal- 
loner lit  his  cigar,  "  how  did  you  get  on  with  the  detective 
trade?  " 

"  I  did  not  try,"  said  Challoner  curtly. 

"  Ah,  well,  I  did,"  returned  Somerset,  "  and  made  the 
most  incomparable  mess  of  it:  lost  all  my  money  and  fairly 
covered  myself  with  odium  and  ridicule.  There  is  more  in 
that  business,  Challoner,  than  meets  the  eye;  there  is  more, 
in  fact,  in  all  businesses.  You  must  believe  in  them,  or  get 
up  the  belief  that  you  believe.  Hence,"  he  added,  "  the 
recognized  inferiority  of  the  plumber,  for  no  one  could 
believe  in  plumbing." 

"  A  propos"  asked  Challoner,  "  do  you  still  paint?  " 

"  Not  now,"  replied  Paul ;  "  but  I  think  of  taking  up 
the  violin." 

Challoner's  eye,  which  had  been  somewhat  restless  since 
the  trade  of  the  detective  had  been  named,  now  rested  for  a 
moment  on  the  columns  of  the  morning  paper,  where  it  lay 
spread  upon  the  counter. 

"  By  Jove,"  he  cried,  "  that's  odd !  *' 


EPILOGUE  OF  THE  CIGAR  DIVAN 

"  What  is  odd?  "  asked  Paul. 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  returned  the  other :  "  only  I  once  met  a 
person  called  M'Guire." 

"  So  did  I !  "  cried  Somerset.  "  Is  there  any  thing  about 
him.?" 

Challoner  read  as  follows:  **  Mysterious  death  in  Step- 
ney. An  inquest  was  held  yesterday  on  the  body  of  Patrick 
M'Guire,  described  as  a  carpenter.  Doctor  Dovering  stated 
that  he  had  for  some  time  treated  the  deceased  as  a  dis- 
pensary patient,  for  sleeplessness,  loss  of  appetite  and  nerv- 
ous depression.  There  was  no  cause  of  death  to  be  found 
He  would  say  the  deceased  had  sunk.  Deceased  was  not  a 
temperate  man,  which  doubtless  accelerated  death.  Deceased 
complained  of  dumb  ague,  but  witness  had  never  been  able 
to  detect  any  positive  disease.  He  did  not  know  that  he  had 
any  family.  He  regarded  him  as  a  person  of  unsound  intel- 
lect, who  believed  himself  a  member  and  the  victim  of  some 
secret  society.  If  he  were  to  hazard  an  opinion,  he  would 
say  deceased  had  died  of  fear." 

"  And  the  doctor  would  be  right,"  cried  Somerset ;  "  and 
my  dear  Challoner,  I  am  so  relieved  to  hear  of  his  demise, 

that  I  will Well  after  all/'  he  added,  "  poor  devil,  he 

was  well  served." 

The  door  at  this  moment  opened,  and  Desborough  ap- 
peared upon  the  threshold.  He  was  wrapped  in  a  long 
waterproof,  imperfectly  supplied  with  buttons ;  his  boots 
were  full  of  water,  his  hat  greasy  with  service;  and  yet  he 
wore  the  air  of  one  exceedingly  well  content  with  life.  He 
was  hailed  by  the  two  others  with  exclamations  of  surprise 
and  welcome. 

"  And  did  you  try  the  detective  business.?  "  inquired  Paul. 

"  No,"  returned  Harry.  "  Oh  yes,  by  the  way,  I  did 
though;  twice,  and  got  caught  out  both  times.  But  I 
thought  I  should  find  my — my  wife  here !  "  he  added,  with 
a  kind  of  proud  confusion. 

"What!  are  you  married.?  "  cried  Somerset. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  Harry,  "  quite  a  long  time :  a  month  at 
least." 

525 


THE   DYNAMITER 

"  Money  ?  "  asked  Challoner. 

"  That's  the  worst  of  it,"  Desborough  admitted.  "  We 
are  deadly  hard  up.  But  the  Pri — Mr.  Godall  is  going  to 
do  something  for  us.     That  is  what  brings  us  here." 

"  Who  was  Mrs.  Desborough.'* "  said  Challoner,  in  the 
tone  of  a  man  of  society. 

"  She  was  a  Miss  Luxmore,"  returned  Harry.  "  You  fel- 
lows will  be  sure  to  like  her,  for  she  is  much  cleverer  than  I. 
She  tells  wonderful  stories,  too ;  better  than  a  book." 

And  just  then  the  door  opened,  and  Mrs.  Desborough 
entered.  Somerset  cried  out  aloud  to  recognize  the  young 
lady  of  the  Superfluous  Mansion,  and  Challoner  fell  back 
a  step  and  dropped  his  cigar  as  he  beheld  the  sorceress  of 
Chelsea. 

"What!"  cried  Harry,  "do  you  both  know  my  wife?" 

"  I  believe  I  have  seen  her,"  said  Somerset,  a  little  wildly. 

"  I  think  I  have  met  the  gentlemen,"  said  Mrs.  Desbor- 
ough, sweetly ;  "  but  I  can  not  imagine  where  it  was." 

"  Oh  no,"  cried  Somerset  fervently :  "  I  have  no  notion — 
I  can  not  conceive — ^where  it  could  have  been.  Indeed,"  he 
continued,  growing  in  emphasis,  "  I  think  it  highly  prob- 
able that  it's  a  mistake." 

"And  you,  Challoner.?"  asked  Harry,  "you  seemed  to 
recognize  her,  too." 

"  These  are  both  friends  of  yours,  Harry.?  "  said  the  lady. 
"  Delighted,  I  am  sure.  I  do  not  remember  to  have  met  Mr. 
Challoner." 

Challoner  was  very  red  in  the  face,  perhaps  from  having 
groped  after  his  cigar.  "  I  do  not  remember  to  have  had 
the  pleasure,"  he  responded  huskily. 

"Well,  and  Mr.  Godall?"  asked  Mrs.  Desborough. 

"  Are  you  the  lady  that  has  an  appointment  with 
old  .  .  .  ."  began  Somerset,  and  paused  blushing. 
"  Because  if  so,"  he  resumed,  "  I  was  to  announce  you  at 
once." 

And  the  shopman  raised  a  curtain,  opened  a  door,  and 
passed  into  a  small  pavilion  which  had  been  added  to  the 
back  of  the  house.     On  the  roof,  the  rain  resounded  mu- 

526 


'     EPILOGUE  OF  THE  CIGAR  DIVAN 

sicallj.  The  walls  were  lined  with  maps  and  prints  and  a 
few  works  of  reference.  Upon  a  table  was  a  large-scale  map 
of  Egypt  and  the  Soudan,  and  another  of  Tonkin,  on  which, 
by  the  aid  of  colored  pins,  the  progress  of  the  different  wars 
was  being  followed  day  by  day.  A  light,  refreshing  odor 
of  the  most  delicate  tobacco  hung  upon  the  air;  and  a  fire, 
not  of  foul  coal,  but  of  clear-flaming  resinous  billets,  chat- 
tered upon  silver  dogs.  In  this  elegant  and  plain  apart- 
ment, Mr.  Godall  sat  in  a  morning  muse,  placidly  gazing 
at  the  fire  and  hearkening  to  the  rain  upon  the  roof. 

"  Ha,  my  dear  Mr.  Somerset,"  said  he,  "  and  have  you 
since  last  night  adopted  any  fresh  political  principle?  " 

"  The  lady,  sir,"  said  Somerset,  with  another  blush. 

"You  have  seen  her,  I  believe.''"  returned  Mr.  Godall; 
and  on  Somerset's  replying  in  the  affirmative :  "  You  will 
excuse  me,  my  dear  sir,"  he  resumed,  "  if  I  offer  you  a  hint. 
I  think  it  not  improbable  this  lady  may  desire  entirely  to 
forget  the  past.  From  one  gentleman  to  another,  no  more 
words  are  necessary." 

A  moment  after,  he  had  received  Mrs.  Desborough  with 
that  grave  and  touching  urbanity  that  so  well  became 
him. 

"  I  am  pleased,  madam,  to  welcome  you  to  my  poor 
house,"  he  said;  "  and  shall  be  still  more  so,  if  what  were 
else  a  barren  courtesy  and  a  pleasure  personal  to  myself, 
shall  prove  to  be  of  serious  benefit  to  you  and  Mr.  Des- 
borough." 

"  Your  Highness,"  replied  Clara,  "  I  must  begin  with 
thanks ;  it  is  like  what  I  have  heard  of  you,  that  you  should 
thus  take  up  the  case  of  the  unfortunate ;  and  as  for  my 
Harry,  he  is  worthy  of  all  that  you  can  do."     She  paused. 

"  But  for  yourself?  "  suggested  Mr.  Godall — "  it  was 
thus  you  were  about  to  continue,  I  believe." 

"  You  take  the  words  out  of  my  mouth,"  she  said.  "  For 
myself  it  is  different." 

"  I  am  not  here  to  be  a  judge  of  men,"  replied  the  Prince ; 
*'  still  less  of  women.  I  am  now  a  private  person  like  your- 
self and  many  million  others ;  but  I  am  one  who  still  fights 

527 


THE   DYNAMITER 

upon  the  side  of  quiet.  Now,  madam,  you  know  better  than 
I,  and  God  better  than  you,  what  you  have  done  to  mankind 
in  the  past;  I  pause  not  to  inquire;  it  is  with  the  future  I 
concern  myself,  it  is  for  the  future  I  demand  security.  I 
would  not  wiHingly  put  arms  into  the  hands  of  a  disloyal 
combatant ;  and  I  dare  not  restore  to  wealth  one  of  the 
levyers  of  a  private  and  a  barbarous  war.  I  speak  with 
some  severity,  and  yet  I  pick  my  terms.  I  tell  myself  con- 
tinually that  you  are  a  woman;  and  a  voice  continually 
reminds  me  of  the  children  whose  lives  and  limbs  you  have 
endangered.  A  woman,"  he  repeated  solemnly  — "  and  chil- 
dren. Possibly,  madam,  when  you  are  yourself  a  mother, 
you  will  feel  the  bite  of  that  antithesis:  possibly  when  you 
kneel  at  night  beside  a  cradle,  a  fear  will  fall  upon  you, 
heavier  than  any  shame ;  and  when  your  child  lies  in  the  pain 
and  danger  of  disease,  you  shall  hesitate  to  kneel  before 
your  Maker." 

"  You  look  at  the  fault,"  she  said,  "  and  not  at  the  ex- 
cuse. Has  your  own  heart  never  leaped  witliin  you  at  some 
story  of  oppression.''  But,  alas,  no!  for  you  were  born 
upon  a  throne." 

"  I  was  born  of  woman,"  said  the  Prince ;  "  I  came  forth 
from  my  mother's  agony,  helpless  as  a  wren,  like  other 
nurslings.  This  which  you  forgot,  I  have  still  faithfully 
remembered.  Is  it  not  one  of  your  English  poets,  that 
looked  abroad  upon  the  earth  and  saw  vast  circumvallations, 
innumerable  troops  maneuvering,  war-ships  at  sea  and  a 
great  dust  of  battles  on  shore;  and  casting  anxiously  about 
for  what  should  be  the  cause  of  so  many  and  painful  prepar- 
ations, spied  at  last,  in  the  center  of  all,  a  mother  and 
her  babe.?  These,  madam,  are  my  politics;  and  the  verses, 
which  are  by  Mr.  Coventry  Patmore,  I  have  caused  to  be 
translated  into  the  Bohemian  tongue.  Yes,  these  are  my 
politics :  to  change  what  we  can ;  to  better  what  we  can ;  but 
still  to  bear  in  mind  that  man  is  but  a  devil  weakly  fettered 
by  some  generous  beliefs  and  impositions ;  and  for  no  word 
however  nobly  sounding,  and  no  cause  however  just  and 
pious,  to  relax  the  stricture  of  these  bonds." 

528 


EPILOGUE  OF  THE  CIGAR  DIVAN 

There  was  a  silence  of  a  moment. 

*'  I  fear,  madam,"  resumed  the  Prince,  **  that  I  but  weary 
you.  My  views  are  formal  like  myself,  and  like  myself,  they 
also  begin  to  grow  old.  But  I  must  still  trouble  you  for 
some  reply." 

"  I  can  say  but  one  thing,"  said  Mrs.  Desborough :  "  I 
love  my  husband." 

"  It  is  a  good  answer,"  returned  the  Prince ;  "  and  you 
name  a  good  influence,  but  one  that  need  not  be  conterminous 
with  Hfe." 

"  I  will  not  play  at  pride  with  such  a  man  as  you,"  she 
answered.  "What  do  you  ask  of  me?  not  protestations,  I 
am  sure.  WTiat  shall  I  say.''  I  have  done  much  that  I  can 
not  defend  and  that  I  would  not  do  again.  Can  I  say  more.'' 
Yes:  I  can  say  this:  I  never  abused  myself  with  the  muddle- 
headed  fairy  tales  of  politics.  I  was  at  least  prepared  to 
meet  reprisals.  While  I  was  levying  war  myself — or  levying 
murder  if  you  choose  the  plainer  term — I  never  accused  my 
adversaries  of  assassination.  I  never  felt  or  feigned  a 
righteous  horror,  when  a  price  was  put  upon  ni}'  Hfe  by  those 
whom  I  attacked.  I  never  called  the  policeman  a  hireling. 
I  may  have  been  a  criminal,  in  short ;  but  never  was  a 
fool." 

"  Enough,  madam,"  returned  the  Prince :  "  more  than 
enough !  Your  words  are  most  reviving  to  my  spirits ;  for 
in  this  age,  when  even  the  assassin  is  a  sentimentalist,  there 
is  no  virtue  greater  In  my  eyes  than  intellectual  clarity. 
Suffer  me  then  to  ask  you  to  retire ;  for  by  the  signal  of 
that  bell,  I  perceive  my  old  friend,  your  mother,  to  be 
close  at  hand.     With  her  I  promise  you  to  do  my  utmost." 

And  as  Mrs.  Desborough  returned  to  the  Divan,  the 
Prince,  opening  a  door  upon  the  other  side,  admitted  Mrs. 
Luxmore. 

"  Madam  and  my  very  good  friend,"  said  he,  *'  is  my 
face  so  much  changed  that  you  no  longer  recognize  Prince 
Florizel  in  Mr.  Godall?" 

"  To  be  sure ! "  she  cried,  looking  at  him  through  her 
glasses.     "  I  have  always  regarded  your  Higlmess  as  a  per- 

529 


THE   DYNAMITER 

feet  man;  and  in  your  altered  circumstances,  of  which  I 
have  already  heard  with  deep  regret,  I  will  beg  you  to  con- 
sider my  respect  increased  instead  of  lessened." 

"  I  have  found  it  so,"  returned  the  Prince,  "  with  every 
class  of  my  acquaintance.  But,  madam,  I  pray  you  to  be 
seated.  My  business  is  of  a  delicate  order  and  regards  your 
daughter." 

"  In  that  case,"  said  Mrs.  Luxmore,  "  you  may  save  your- 
self the  trouble  of  speaking,  for  I  have  fully  made  up  my 
mind  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  her.  I  will  not  hear  one 
word  in  her  defense ;  but  as  I  value  nothing  so  particularly 
as  the  virtue  of  justice,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  explain  to 
you  the  grounds  of  my  complaint.  She  deserted  me,  her 
natural  protector ;  for  years,  she  has  consorted  with  the 
most  disreputable  persons ;  and  to  fill  the  cup  of  her  offense, 
she  has  recently  married.  I  refuse  to  see  her,  or  the  being 
to  whom  she  has  linked  herself.  One  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  a  year,  I  have  always  offered  her:  I  offer  it  again. 
It  is  what  I  had  myself  when  I  was  her  age." 

*'  Very  well,  madam,"  said  the  Prince ;  "  and  be  that  so ! 
But  to  touch  upon  another:  what  was  the  income  of  the 
Reverend  Bernard  Fanshawe?  " 

"My  father.?"  asked  the  spirited  old  lady.  "I  believe 
he  had  seven  hundred  pounds  in  the  year." 

"  You  were  one,  I  think,  of  several .?  "  pursued  the  Prince. 

"  Of  four,"  was  the  reply.  "  We  were  four  daughters ; 
and  painful  as  the  admission  is  to  make,  a  more  detestable 
family  could  scarce  be  found  in  England." 

"  Dear  me !  "  said  the  Prince.  "  And  you,  madam,  have 
an  income  of  eight  thousand.'"' 

"  Not  more  than  five,"  returned  the  old  lady ;  "  but  where 
on  earth  are  you  conducting  me?  " 

"  To  an  allowance  of  one  thousand  pounds  a  year,"  re- 
plied Florizel,  smiling.  "  For  I  must  not  suffer  you  to  take 
your  father  for  a  rule.  He  was  poor,  you  are  rich.  He 
had  many  calls  upon  his  poverty :  there  are  none  upon  your 
wealth.  And,  indeed,  madam,  if  you  will  let  me  touch  this 
matter  with  a  needle,  there  is  but  one  point  in  common  to 

5S0 


EPILOGUE  OF  THE  CIGAR  DIVAN 

your  two  positions:  that  each  had  a  daughter  more  remark- 
able for  livehness  than  duty." 

"  I  have  been  entrapped  into  this  house,"  said  the  old 
lady,  getting  to  her  feet.  "  But  it  shall  not  avail.  Not  all 
the  tobacconists  in  Europe     .     .     ." 

"  Ah,  madam,"  interrupted  Florizel,  "  before  what  is  re- 
ferred to  as  my  fall,  you  had  not  used  such  language !  And 
since  you  so  much  object  to  the  simple  industry  by  which  I 
live,  let  me  give  you  a  friendly  hint.  If  you  will  not  con- 
sent to  support  your  daughter,  I  shall  be  constrained  to 
place  that  lady  behind  my  counter,  where  I  doubt  not  she 
would  prove  a  great  attraction ;  and  your  son-in-law  shall 
have  a  livery  and  run  the  errands.  With  such  young  blood  my 
business  might  be  doubled,  and  I  might  be  bound  in  common 
gratitude,  to  place  the  name  of  Luxmore  beside  that  of 
Godall." 

"  Your  Highness,"  said  the  old  lady,  "  I  have  been  very 
rude,  and  you  are  very  cunning.  I  suppose  the  minx  is  on 
the  premises.     Produce  her." 

"  Let  us  rather  observe  them  unperceived,"  said  the 
Prince;  and  so  saying  he  rose  and  quietly  drew  back  the 
curtain. 

Mrs.  Desborough  sat  with  her  back  to  them  on  a  chair; 
Somerset  and  Harry  were  hanging  on  her  words  with  ex- 
traordinary interest;  Challoner,  alleging  some  affair,  had 
long  ago  withdrawn  from  the  detested  neighborhood  of  the 
enchantress. 

"  At  that  moment,"  Mrs.  Desborough  was  saying,  "  Mr. 
Gladstone  detected  the  features  of  his  cowardly  assailant. 
A  cry  rose  to  his  lips:  a  cry  of  mingled  triumph     .     .     ." 

"  That  Is  Mr.  Somerset ! "  Interrupted  the  spirited  old 
lady,  in  the  highest  note  of  her  register.  "  Mr.  Somerset, 
what  have  you  done  with  my  house-property?  " 

"  Madam,"  said  the  Prince,  "  let  it  be  mine  to  give  the 
explanation ;  and  in  the  meanwhile,  welcome  your  daughter." 

"  Well,  Clara,  how  do  you  do  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Luxmore.  "  It 
appears  I  am  to  give  you  an  allowance.  So  much  the  better 
for  you.     As  for  Mr.  Somerset,  I  am  very  ready  to  have 

531 


THE   DYNAMITER 

an  explanation ;  for  the  whole  affair,  though  costly,  was 
eminently  humorous.  And  at  any  rate,"  she  added,  nodding 
to  Paul,  "  he  is  a  young  gentleman  for  whom  I  have  a  great 
affection,  and  his  pictures  were  the  funniest  I  ever  saw." 

"  I  have  ordered  a  collation,"  said  the  Prince.  "  Mr. 
Somerset,  as  these  are  all  your  friends,  I  propose,  if  you 
please,  that  you  should  join  them  at  table.  I  will  take  the 
shop." 


THE  TTND 


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